Comments on Running Injury Free: A Plan for Beginning Running

Yes, agree with your comments. I stopped coffee th...

2012-02-09T01:08:35.182-07:00

Yes, agree with your comments. I stopped coffee three weeks before marathon. Regarding Gatorade, I will take only for long runs above 2 hrs. Thanks.

Hi Raju, 1. Look at the list of ingredients and a...

2012-02-08T22:15:16.516-07:00

Hi Raju,

1. Look at the list of ingredients and ask yourself do you need those chemicals? In general, you probably don't need a sports drink for runs under two hours. Drinks taken before or during a run should be high in carbs and low in protein. Drinks taken after a run should be low in carbs and high in protein. Science is learning that artificial sweeteners are worse for your body than sugar. Sugar in a drink may be OK before or during a run, but not so good in drinks taken after a run. Look at the number of calories in a drink and compare that with the distance of your run. Assume you burn 100 calories per mile. Some drinks may provide more calories than you will burn, and you'll gain weight with those drinks. Caffeine in drinks is controversial. I personally don't take drinks with caffeine, but that is just my idiosyncrasy. Caffeine does remove water from your body, so there is danger of dehydration. Caffeine is a stimulant, and many runners want that stimulation to help with their run. The main use of sports drinks for me is a source of sodium during the hot summer when I sweat a lot.

2. There are three kinds of shoes: neutral, correction, and motion control. The kind you need depends on the type of feet you have. If you're not having problems with your current shoes, continue with them and don't change.

3. 300-500 miles. I change my shoes after 500 miles. Heaver runners will probably get fewer miles or km on their shoes due to their higher weight.

Hi, I have a few doubts 1. When do you think a sp...

2012-02-08T20:12:29.445-07:00

Hi, I have a few doubts
1. When do you think a sports drink is required. Usually I use sport drink any runs more than 1 hr. If it is less than 1 hr, I use only water. Or is it ok to run with only water upto 2 hrs of running? One of my friends runs for 2 hrs only with water.

2. Is there any ' rule ' to use which shoes/brand to be used? Normally I use just good running shoes. I never bothered about the brand. When there is no pain, comfortable, no blisters, light weight, good ventilation properties , I think the brand/make is not important. What is your advise on this?
3. Normally what mileage a new pair of running shoes will last?

Thanks

Many Thanks for your comments. I will try to impro...

2012-01-24T20:25:38.453-07:00

Many Thanks for your comments. I will try to improve my timings with all the precautions you mentioned. Will post my improvement here every now and then.

When I trained for half marathons, I would take a ...

2012-01-24T09:54:13.231-07:00

When I trained for half marathons, I would take a month just before my taper and do speed workouts once a week. I did intervals on a track. I figured a month of weekly speed workouts was sufficient. A year later when I ran a half marathon again, I took another month of speed workouts before my taper.

Another thing to practice during your LSD runs is ...

2012-01-24T09:49:22.165-07:00

Another thing to practice during your LSD runs is running the tangents. That can, depending on the number of curves in your routes, take off several minutes without you going faster at all. Running tangents minimizes the extra distance you run.

See my page on running tangents for details. I run tangents during my training runs just to get in the habit of doing that.

Hi Raju, My speed page lists several ways of incr...

2012-01-24T09:42:31.123-07:00

Hi Raju,

My speed page lists several ways of increasing your speed, and I've listed them in a recommended order. Galloway's cadence drills will help without introducing a lot of stress. While you're doing your LSD runs, you can do a couple of cadence drills and then continue your LSD. Fartleks are the same way. In the middle of your LSD, do a couple of fartleks.

If you decide to devote most of your run to speed training, only do that once a week. Speed training, especially intervals, is very stressful, and once a week is sufficient. It takes time to increase your speed, so have patience.

The most important thing is to recognize that as your body gets stronger from doing your long runs and LSD, it will also get faster. For example, I went from LSD of 13 minutes to 7 minutes with no speed training at all. Of course, it took me several years for that improvement. I just ran and enjoyed it, doing a 5K or 5 mile race here and there.

Hills have the same effect on your body as speed -- lots of stress. So, only do hills once a week at most. Of course, your LSD may have some hills. I'm speaking of a run where you go up and down a hill several times.

The bottom line of this discussion is to only do speed workouts once a week at most. Focus on your LSD and your long runs, and let your body adapt to the long distance and become faster in the process. Be sure you get plenty of sleep at night, so your body can repair itself after stressful workouts.

Hi Sir, I want to improve my timings for Full Ma...

2012-01-24T05:20:42.985-07:00

Hi Sir,

I want to improve my timings for Full Marathon. I have read articles on your website. I plan to proceed as follows. Started again fresh.. this time with slightly more speed, but will stick to the 10% rule and listen to the body. Started with 3 miles as my first run. But I got exhausted within in about 3 miles. How to increase speed without getting injured or stressed too much. I know that if I increase the distance with this increased speed, I will end up with injury..I have got almost 7 months to train..

Thank you very much for the advice. I was a little...

2012-01-19T23:26:49.244-07:00

Thank you very much for the advice. I was a little over enthusiastic. My wife insists that I should not run another marathon until I am fully recovered from this first. Though I feel I am fit, I take your advice on this. I will increase the distance to 20/22 miles and taper for 3 weeks.I will do my 2nd marathon in Sept 2012, as there are no other marathons suitable for me. Thanks.

Hi Raju, For most people, 4 weeks is the minimum ...

2012-01-19T09:13:43.208-07:00

Hi Raju,

For most people, 4 weeks is the minimum time need for recovery from a marathon. Running another marathon after 4 weeks might be doable, but I don't recommend it. Are there other marathons later in the summer or Fall that you could run?

You've completed a marathon, which means you gained the ability to run 26.2 miles, but you haven't really mastered that distance. In fact, it will probably take you several marathons to master the distance. See the post in this site about mastering the marathon-distance.

Your marathon put a lot of stress on your body, and your body needs time to recover. You are, hopefully, into running as a life-time thing, and waiting a few months before your next marathon when compared to the number of months you probably have left to live is very small.

I ran my second and forth marathons 12 weeks after my first and third marathons, and that worked fine for me. My body was strong, and 12 weeks was sufficient for recovery.

So, the question is how strong is your body? How many weeks will you need to recover from your first marathon? An approximate answer to these questions can be obtained from your training. You need to train for your second marathon just like you trained for your first marathon. So, work your long run up to 20 miles, 22 miles would be even better, and than allow three weeks for a taper. When all of this has happened, you'll be ready for your second marathon.

Hi, There is a marathon after exactly 4 weeks afte...

2012-01-19T08:46:11.915-07:00

Hi, There is a marathon after exactly 4 weeks after I completed my first. What is your opinion about running a second marathon just after 4 weeks. Before I decide what are the factors I should consider running this other than NO PAIN, and Resting Heart rate back to normal. Appreciate your views on this. Thanks.

Congratulations, Raju! It's a great feeling wh...

2012-01-16T20:05:39.627-07:00

Congratulations, Raju! It's a great feeling when you cross that finish line. Welcome to the community of marathoners!

Ahh.. My full marathon dream came true when I cros...

2012-01-16T17:53:00.714-07:00

Ahh.. My full marathon dream came true when I crossed the finish line at the Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon 2012 on 15th Jan in 5H 20M.I am happy that I did not have any muscle cramps during the run. But I learnt to respect the distance above 32km.. I had sports drinks and banana only, did not use anythingelse. But awesome experience.. I realise the importance of running many 32/36 km training runs. Not planning to do another marathon for another 6 months..Thanks to you for the tips.

Great timings Sir. My target is anything sub 5 hrs...

2011-12-26T23:33:03.423-07:00

Great timings Sir. My target is anything sub 5 hrs. And I am back on the track after one full day's rest. It takes 48 hrs for me to get back to running. But most of the time, I take it easy after the long run. And after two hard weeks, the third week goes lazy by default! And I have been thinking and training after my three HM in end 2010. But during my HM Trainig period, I felt pain etc, and then I learnt to avoid injuries by reading your articles and advises from you time to time.. Thanks to you.

My marathon career was in the early 80s, before ge...

2011-12-26T21:13:47.618-07:00

My marathon career was in the early 80s, before gels and Gatorade were invented. I carried bananas during the race and ate one every hour. I still hit the wall at about 20 miles.

The secret, which I didn't understand at the time, was to do runs longer than 20 miles. In all four marathons, my longest run was 20 miles. My finishing times for the four races were within a 13 minute window, from 3:59 to 4:12.

I didn't have any pain when I hit the wall. I just didn't have any energy, and I jogged and walked the last 6 miles.

I have used only Gatarode and one banana every hou...

2011-12-26T18:13:39.327-07:00

I have used only Gatarode and one banana every hour. So far never used gels or similar and not planning to use. I am ok with the above.

Raju, You've been doing some really long runs...

2011-12-26T16:46:44.637-07:00

Raju,

You've been doing some really long runs, and that will pay off in your FM!

Some runners I've talked with say they've had good success with gels during their FM. Are you planning on using gels or sports beans or something? If so, be sure you use them during your training runs so you'll know your stomach agrees with the gels. One gel every 5 miles or so should do it. Be sure you drink water with the gels so they don't dehydrate you by using water already in your body.

Hi, Increased my distance to two long runs during ...

2011-12-26T10:54:41.936-07:00

Hi,
Increased my distance to two long runs during the previous weekends 4Hr and 3.5 hrs, with a weekly milage of 60Km. Now next three weeks planning to taper. Planning to do FM on 15th Jan 2012, if I get leave in time. So far I have done 3 x 3 hr runs, 2 x 3.5 hrs, and 1 x 4hr Long runs during my training. And yes, there were quite a few 2 and 2.5 hr runs. My average speed is 6 miles in an hour. But long runs are a little slower. I am now confident that I will complete 42 km if given a chance on 15th Jan 2012! Ha !Training was not easy..!

I haven't heard about clicking in the knee, so...

2011-11-26T19:06:50.364-07:00

I haven't heard about clicking in the knee, so I can't suggest anything. A visit to a doctor would probably be wise to have the knee checked out.

Thanks a lot. My friend has been running for some...

2011-11-26T17:26:06.804-07:00

Thanks a lot.
My friend has been running for sometime now, but only about one and half miles daily in about 20 min. She has developed a 'clicking sound' from her left knee while walking. But she does not have any pain.. I advised her to stop running for a few days and see. But the 'clicking' does not stop? Is this a problem? or it will vanish on its own? Have you heard of this before? Thanks.

Your body cells hold approximately 2000 calories o...

2011-11-13T09:18:08.720-07:00

Your body cells hold approximately 2000 calories of energy, enough for about 20 miles. When that energy is gone, your body starts to burn fat for energy, causing what is known as the "wall". So, the answer to your question is about 20 miles. However, people claim that using gels during the run will give your body extra energy, thus pushing the wall out further than 20 miles.

gels didn't exist when I ran marathons, so I've had little experience with them. Sports beans are also a source of energy that you can carry with you. In my case, I carried bananas and ate one each hour.

If you want to use gels, sports beans, bananas or something else, use them during your training runs so you can find out how your body reacts to them and if they do help or not. The old idea of carbo loading before a marathon was an attempt to get extra energy into your body. Energy bars, although heavier than gels are another possibility. Try them and see what works for you and what you like.

gels are concentrated and you need to drink water with them, about a cup per gel.

What is the indication that you are going to hit t...

2011-11-13T04:25:27.949-07:00

What is the indication that you are going to hit the 'wall'? I do not want to hit the wall..But at the same time, I want to know about it well in advance during my training runs. As all training programs says One or Two 32 km runs are good enough just about three weeks before and then taper down... I want to know in terms of 'Wall'.. So that I am 100% sure to push the wall beyond 42 km. So far I have done two 3 hour LSDs ( approx.17 miles), at the week ends. I am perfectly alright after 24 hours. Though my other days runnings are not going as planned, but somehow managing. Want to increase to 3.5 hrs next week end.

Thanks.. yes, I am doing that.

2011-10-30T18:05:10.284-06:00

Thanks.. yes, I am doing that.

Hi Raju, I'm glad to hear you're still ru...

2011-10-30T11:24:03.776-06:00

Hi Raju,

I'm glad to hear you're still running and slowly increasing your distance. I've run on concrete and asphalt for almost all of my 39 years of running, and I've never had a problem from the hard surface. I do hip and knee exercises before each run, and this means I have strong knees.

As long as you're not having much soreness and no pain, you're doing fine. A resting heart rate of 50 and going down is great! That means your body is becoming more efficient in its use of oxygen.

If you run on a short course on your ship, be careful of the frequent turns. The leg on the outside of the turn has to stretch farther, so reverse your direction such that each leg takes its turn being on the outside of the turn.

Hi Sir, I am now slowly and cautiously increasing ...

2011-10-30T10:21:46.352-06:00

Hi Sir,
I am now slowly and cautiously increasing my distance.. did my 3 hrs LSD, no pain next day morning..Just a doubt, I am running on hard surface, will it cause injury to my knees. I believe that pain is the first symptom of any injury.. I assume, No pain means.. everything alright? Also I check my Rest Heart rate every day..It is now 50 and going down.. What is your advise? Thanks.