New Web Site and Q&A

Dear Runner,

I receive so many interesting e-mails from runners, and I can’t share them all, so I thought it would be good to allow people to post those to the blog.

I'm going to be posting and re-sending some older e-mail tips. So, you may receive the same tips that you got several months before. Sometimes that's good, to re-enforce some ideas.

Since, I receive so many e-mails from people, and it is getting harder to answer them all individually, I thought it would be a good idea to put them into my Running Tips e-mail and then post them on my Blog. So, if you don’t get a reply, check out the Blog at: www.runningtough.com/running_tips.html.

Here some Questions and Answers:

Q. Can you give me some tips on how to improve my 1.5 mile time? I have to do this in 13 Minutes.

A. First off, you want to take a ‘benchmark’ of how fast you can run this now. Do a couple of timed runs at a pace that you feel comfortable with and yet and push yourself. Do these runs on different days.

If you are below the time that you want to be at, you need to spend some time doing some speed work. For this shorter run you can do several hill sprints to improve your time.

Be careful when you first start doing sprints, because you can easily pull a hamstring, or create some other kind of injury if you go all out, or do too many at one time. Start at about 70% to 80% of what you feel is your maximum speed.

If you don't have hills, then check out the Power Sprinter from Lifeline-USA. Here's the link:

http://www.lifelineusa.com/products.cfm?categoryid=13&productid=20

Q. My name is Krystel and I love to run. I can run short distances but not long because my throat starts to burn, I get a cramp and I am breathing hard.

A. In order to be able to run longer distances, you have to learn to pace yourself for that distance. A lot of runners make this mistake when they try to increase distance. They start off running at their normal pace and quickly burn out. The best method is to increase your time or mileage by 10% a week. This way, your body will naturally learn to adapt to the longer distance and you will avoid injuries.

Remember, if you are experiencing pain, see a doctor as soon as possible.

And, if you are thinking about or have given up running because of pain or fear of injuries, give my course a try. You can order here: http://www.runningtough.com/order.html.

Thanks,

Jerry Hopkins

This email is for educational purposes only. Always consult your own personal doctor for medical advice and follow it even it contradicts what is said on this web site.

Copyright 2004

Avoid Shin Splints Part 2

Dear Runner,

I want to illustrate why it's important to wear good running shoes.

In my last e-mail, I made a point about how important having a good pair of running shoes is. I want to illustrate the point with a real life example.

Last week I went for a run up at a nice park that is about 25 minutes from my house. In my haste I forgot my running shoes. I decided to run with just the shoes that I had. Unfortunately, these were my everyday shoes, and they were pretty worn out.

I didn't want to go back home, so I figured that I would not run as far as I planned and I would stop if I felt too sore. Plus, I thought it would be a good experiment to illustrate my point I make last time. The good news is that I didn't get injured but I sure took a beating. Since, the shoes I ran in didn't have good cushioning, my lower legs took most of the shock. I was quite sore afterward. I only went about 6 1/2 miles.

I could see that if I would continue to run in these shoes, after a couple of weeks, I would probably start to feel the effects and be in danger of some kind of injury. Most likely "shin splints".

Now, I wouldn't have performed this experiment, if I had not believed that I wouldn't be able to take the punishment. I knew that my body was strong enough to handle the poor shoes from doing the exercises from my course, "How to Run Like A Deer". That's probably why I was able to go for at least 6 1/2 miles.

You can think of shoes like tires on a car, it doesn't matter how well tuned the car is, it isn't going to perform well if the tires are almost flat.

More on shin splints. Remember that I am using the term shin splints to really mean pain or problems in the front of the lower leg, i.e., the shin.

Here are 5 common causes of shin pain:

1) Tendonitis
2) Inflammation of the bone covering
3) Stress Fractures
4) Nerve irritation
5) Compartment syndrome

1) Tendonitis is basically tendon stress, usually inflammation. In this case tendons in your lower leg. You will normally feel this when at rest, and when you first run, then the pain will "go away' as your tendons warm up and loosen up a bit.

2) Inflammation of the bone covering means that the material that covers your bones, called Periosteum, becomes inflamed. Your tendons actual attach to this as opposed to the bone itself. This is caused by too much shock to the bone. This usually gets worse as you run. Remember last week where I talked about how the lower leg takes most of the shock from running.

3) Stress fractures in the shin area are also caused by too much shock and jarring. Can also be caused by twisting or stepping off a curb wrong, then agitated by repeated jarring from running. This also gets worse the more you run on it.

4) Nerve irritation of the tibial nerve is caused by surrounding muscles and/or veins that squeeze the nerve and thus inflame it.

5) The most serious of all shin problems is Compartment syndrome. Your lower leg has several different "compartments" that each house muscles, tendons, nerves, veins, arteries and bones. Each one is contained by a cellophane "sheath". If there is sudden swelling in any compartment, from an inflamed muscle this can squeeze against the arteries and/or veins and can cut of blood flow. This causes pain from the lack of blood flow. This also gets worse the more you run. You may see your foot or lower leg turning blue or purple and it might feel cold. If this happens, IMMEDIATELY SEEK EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT.

Remember, if you are experiencing pain, see a doctor as soon as possible.

And, if you are thinking about or have given up running because of pain or fear of injuries, give my course a try. You can order here: http://www.runningtough.com/order.html.

Thanks,

Jerry Hopkins

Avoid Shin Splints Part 1

Dear Runner,

While I can’t say that will be injury-free from running, by following my program, outlined in "How To Run Like A Deer", you can definitely improve your odds of staying injury free. The first step to understanding the logic behind my advice is to gain an understanding of typical running injuries.

So. in the next few e-mails, I am going to address "shin splints".

Next to knee problems the most common complaint of pain and injury for runners is shin splints. The term "shin splints" is a loosely used term basically meaning any pain, discomfort or injury to the lower leg area. I am going to use it to describe any kind of pain in the front of the lower leg, i.e., the shin. (I will talk about the rear part of the leg in other upcoming e-mails.) This can range from pain from inflamed muscles, or tendons in the shins to hairline fractures in the shin bone itself.

Once again, we find the bane of many runners as one of the causes of shin splints. That is overuse/overtraining. However, there can be other causes, like old, worn out shoes, the wrong type of shoe, and running too long on too hard of a surface.

So, if you are still wearing the same pair of shoes for more than a year, it's time to get a new pair. If you don't know how to buy a pair of running shoes, I posted a short article to assist beginners in buying shoes. Check it out at www.howtobuyrunningshoes.com. I will be putting up some shoe reviews soon. If you want to let me know what kinds of shoes you want reviewed, send me an e-mail. Feel free to tell me what your favorite pair of shoes are.

Since, getting a new pair of shoes is fairly easy to fix, I will concentrate on the overuse/overtraining issue of shin splints in this e-mail.

Overtraining is basically too much training with too little recovery time. Mostly, beginner runners make this mistake, but even experience runners make it, too. Usually, this is when they start to train for a race, and they either give themselves too little time to train for it, or they just become over enthusiastic and just run too much too fast.

The basic fix for overtraining is to cut back and give yourself time to recover. I'll talk more about overtraining in an upcoming e-mail.

Running is hardest on the lower part of your leg. The reason why running can be hard on your body, is when you run, each time your foot strikes the ground, there is a shockwave, that will travel up your lower leg, through your knee, your upper leg and into your hips. It will basically travel all the way to the top of your body. But, once it makes it past your core, a lot of energy has been lost. Your lower leg takes most of this shockwave. You would think it would be the feet. However, since most modern running shoes (that aren't worn out) have lots of cushioning, the feet are pretty much protected.

The energy from the shockwave must be absorbed by the musculoskeletal system. Of course, the harder the surface, the harder the shockwave. However, you want your muscles to absorb the shockwave more than your bones, or connective tissues. In fact, your muscles will absorb most of it. However, when you become fatigued, your muscles start to give out and absorb less. The bones and connective tissue will then end up absorbing more.

You can think of it this way. If you were to jump straight up from a standing position, then as you came down, what do you do. You probably engaged your muscles to help cushion the shock and the jump is pretty painless. However, if you were to jump and then make your legs straight and try not to make your body too rigid, you will feel the wave of pain in your feet, ankles, legs, knee and hip. If you don't engage your muscles at all, you will fall over after your feet hit the ground.

You might want to try this. But, be warned, don't jump too high or you could hurt yourself. Maybe, 1 to 2 inches. In fact, you can just tip up on your toes, like a calf raise and just release the tension and drop onto your heels. Try it on a carpet. Either way, don't be sending me e-mails, saying how you hurt yourself. If you are prone to injury, or think this might hurt yourself, then don't try it and just trust the explanation.

If you were to continue to jump up and down, hundreds or even thousands of times, which is similar to what happens when you run, eventually your muscles will become fatigue. And, from the experiment above, guess how the shockwave is going to be absorbed. This is why rest/recovery is important. As well as having strong (in endurance terms) muscles.

Now most of you might be aware that the more pounding a bone receives, the more dense it becomes. Your bones are not static, and they will adopt to external stimuli. The more you run, the denser your leg bones become, especially the lower leg bones. This is one reason why beginners experience pain in their shins, because their bones are not dense enough to withstand the stresses of running.

This is also one of the reasons why more women seem to suffer from shin splints than men. In general, women have less bone mass than men.

Even though, your bones get denser and can withstand more shock, you still need strong muscles to assist with the shock absorption. Again, reference the experiment above. Try doing hundreds of jumps with out using your muscles to assist and soon you will realize you won't be able to keep doing it for long. On second thought, don't try that. Just realize that it is your musculoskeletal system working together that absorbs the shockwave.

The overtraining/overuse problems and understanding how the body absorbs shock from running applies not just to "shin splints" but to several types of injuries. I think it is important for runners to comprehend this concept. Because that knowledge can help you to run injury free. I brought it up in this e-mail because it more evident in shin splint type of injuries. I'm sure I will bring it up again. For runners who have my course “How to Run Like a Deer Forever”, you should already be familiar with these concepts. But, it is good to read about them again.

So, in the next few e-mails I will go more into the common kinds of "shin splint" injuries.

Remember, if you are experiencing pain, see a doctor as soon as possible.

And, if you are thinking about or have given up running because of pain or fear of injuries, give my course a try. You can order here: http://www.runningtough.com/order.html.

Thanks,

Jerry Hopkins

Avoiding Runner's Knee Part 2

Dear Runner,

I wanted to talk a little more about Runner's Knee. But, first I wanted to share a something funny with you.

I was out running in a park this weekend, and the trail goes along a lot of woods. I got up to a point where the bushes were thick enough where I couldn't see into them. I heard some crashing inside the bushes and wondered what was there. Here it was a deer running to cross the trail. It almost ran into me. At the last moment, it stopped and turned around and ran back into the woods. How funny is that?

That would have been a hard injury to explain, being run over by a deer.

On to Runner's Knee. There was a study done in 1991, from the Bowman-Gray School of Medicine that studied Runner's Knee.

The study found the basic same causes of Runner's Knee that I mentioned in my last e-mail, with one exception. That exception is when runners run on uneven surfaces, where one leg is going to be lower than the other. Like a beach, or side of a road that is sloped downward.

But, one of the interesting items of the study was that they found that runners who had runner's knee had weak quadriceps muscles. This was the second most common cause of Runner's Knee. The fist being running on sloped surfaces.

The good news is that Runner's Knee can be prevented.

Follow this advise:

1) Don't run on sloped surfaces, especially for any extended period of time.
2) Strengthen your Quad muscles.
3) If you are OverPronating get a pair of antipronation shoes.

The first one is self explanatory.

Exercises to strengthen the quads are outlined in my course, “How to Run Like a Deer Forever.” These exercises will help you to strengthen both the tendons and muscles around the knee area and the quadriceps muscles, reducing your risk for this common, but certainly not inevitable injury.

You can get a good pair of shoes by visiting your local running store. You can also check out Road Runner Sports using this link:

http://tinyurl.com/276pf

And, if you are thinking about or have given up running because of pain or fear of injuries, give my course a try. You can order here: http://www.runningtough.com/order.html.

Thanks,

Jerry Hopkins

Avoiding Runner's Knee

Dear Runner,

When it comes to running injuries, ignorance is not necessarily bliss. It’s important to know about the common types of running injuries for two reasons: 1.) to help you to avoid or prevent them 2.) to help you to recognize them if they occur and to seek the proper treatment.

While I can’t promise you that your running career will be injury-free, by following my program, outlined in "How To Run Like A Deer", you can definitely decrease your risk of injury. The first step to understanding the logic behind my advice is to gain an understanding of typical running injuries.

Certainly, the most common running injury is what doctors call chrondromalacia patella, known to the rest of us as runner’s knee. Runner’s knee occurs when the cartilage on the underside of the kneecap, the patella, softens and then erodes or breaks down. This usually occurs when the kneecap is not tracking properly. Ideally, the patella (kneecap) glides up and down the leg smoothly, helping the thigh muscles gain leverage as you run or walk. But, a variety of problems, such as overpronation (when your foot rolls to the inside more than it should after your heel strikes the ground), stress caused from overtraining, and weak quadriceps muscles, cause pain, inflammation and the eventually the softening and erosion of cartilage that lead to this injury.

If you have runner’s knee, you may experience pain under or around the kneecap, a clicking or grinding sound when you walk or run, and pain or inability to walk up stairs. If the pain is debilitating or constant and/or you hear and feel a grinding noise, you should see a doctor before continuing to run.

To help avoid this runner’s injury, one that many runners think they will get if they run long enough, you need consider a couple of things

Are you overpronating?

Are you overtraining?

Are your quadriceps strong enough for the distance you run?

Overpronation can be fix by getting the proper shoes.

Overtraining is common among beginners and runners that are looking to increase their distance and/or improve their time. Usually these are runners that start training for a race. You stop overtraining by cutting back on the number of days that you run, or the distance. You should slowly increase your distance.

Even if you fix your pronation or you don't have this problem, and you aren't overtraining, you may still have weak quad muscles. This is one of the most common cause of runner's knee.

Your quad muscles actually help your knee cap to track properly. When they get tired, then it doesn't track properly and that leads to the problem of runner's knee.

The good news is that it can be prevented. Exercises to strengthen the quads are outlined in my course, “How to Run Like a Deer Forever.” These exercises will help you to strengthen both the tendons and muscles around the knee area and the quadriceps muscles, reducing your risk for this common, but certainly not inevitable injury.

And, if you are thinking about or have given up running because of pain or fear of injuries, give my course a try. You can order here: http://www.runningtough.com/order.html.

Thanks,

Jerry Hopkins

Getting Hypothermia in The Summer – Part 2

In the last email I told you how I got mild hypothermia from hiking up at Isle Royale. In this email I am going to embarrass myself with how I again got mild hypothermia from running in 95 degree weather.

I had gone out for a 10 mile run a few summers ago. It was a nice hot day, 95 degrees. The kind of day that you start sweating as soon as you step outside. Now, I just love to run when it is hot and humid out.

I came prepared, I had plenty of water, and a jogging shirt that wick away the sweat so that I can cool off faster.

After the run I felt fine, hot, of course. But, I was in a hurry and wanted to get home. I had drove 25 minutes up to a nice park that makes for a pleasant jog. Normally, I sit at a park bench and drink and eat something to cool off and regain some energy. Not today.

I get into my car, which was sitting in the sun and it was probably 120 degrees inside. I immediately turn on the air conditioning full blast, of course.

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I foolishly rode the 25 minutes home with the AC on full blast. Then when I arrived home, I had cranked up the AC at home because it was so hot out. After being home for a few minutes, I started to get the chills a little bit. I got into the shower and felt fine. But, once I had got out the cold AC hit me again, and I started to get the chills, like I had at Isle Royale. This time I knew what was happening.

I ended up in bed covered with several blankets, and turned on the heat.

I knew what my mistakes were. So, here is what I do now on every run.

I always bring a change of shirts. I put on a nice, dry shirt after my run, so that I don't get the cool down too quickly.

I make it a point to stay outside to "cool off" and not go inside where there is AC too soon. Even when I run in the streets outside my house, I don't go back inside too soon.

When I drive somewhere to run, I don't use the AC in the car, or make a point to use it for a few minutes then turn it off.


Remember, if you are experiencing pain, see a doctor as soon as possible.

And, if you are thinking about or have given up running because of pain or fear of injuries, give my course a try. You can order here: http://www.runningtough.com/order.html.

Thanks,

Jerry Hopkins
Author of “How to Run Like a Deer Forever”
jerry@runningtough.com
http://www.runningtough.com

This blog is for educational purposes only. Always consult your own personal doctor for medical advice and follow it even it contradicts what is said in this email.

Copyright 2005

Jerry Hopkins
Hopkins Business Services, Inc.
5314 Yosemite Dr.
Medina, OH 44256
1-866-316-7988

Can You Get Hypothermia in The Summer?

Can You Get Hypothermia in The Summer? Yes, it is possible. Twice I had the beg mild Hypothermia and both times it was in the middle of summer.

Granted the first time I had Hypothermia it was up at Isle Royale. For those of you that don't know where Isle Royale is, it is an island in the Northern part of Lake Superior, which is part of the great lakes. Even in the summer, Lake Superior never warms up.

Isle Royale is pretty far north, and it is usually cooler up there and the boat ride over on Lake Superior is icy cold. It is like winter on the lake. Once you are on Isle Royale, and off the lake it does warm up a bit.

Isle Royale is a great place to backpack, which was what I was doing there. This was my second trip up there, and I kept telling my friend, that even though it was the beginning of July, he better dress warm, for it is cold.

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We arrived on the island, and started hiking. Even though it was cold on the way over, it was around 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Because we were moving, I didn't feel cold, so I didn't put on a jacket or anything. I was also wearing one of those shirts that dry quickly and cools you off faster. Big mistake.

As the day wore on, the temperature dropped to probably 50 degrees. After a while I started feeling weak and really tired. I didn't think that I was that out of shape. I barely made it to the place where we planned on camping. Once, we were there, we set up the tent and I started to get the chills real bad. I was shaking uncontrollably. I thought that I had come down with a fever or something. I crawled into my sleeping bag and felt good inside. I wasn't hungry or anything, I just wanted to stay in the sleeping bag.

The next day I felt fine but we decided not to march on because we didn't know if I had a problem or not. We stayed at the camp ground and ran into a ranger the next day. We told him what happened and he is the one who told me that I had early stages of hypothermia. I did the right thing by getting warm inside the sleeping bag.

Of course, what contributed to the hypothermia was the cold, boat ride (I didn't wear a winter coat or anything) and that left me a little cold, combined with not wearing warmer clothing, in fact, having a shirt that cooled me off quicker made things worse. Plus, the fact that I made the mistake of thinking I was warm, since I was doing physical activity and felt warm. However, this was drawing away heat from my core organs, to my limbs, which is a bad thing.

The good news was that we didn't have far to hike, because a few more hours of this and I would have been in real trouble.

In the next email, I will tell you how I again got the mild hypothermia when I ran in 95 degree weather. Plus, what to look for and how to avoid the mistakes I made.

If you are into backpacking, check out Isle Royale http://www.nps.gov/isro/ It's an interesting place. But, pack lots of warm clothes.

Remember, if you are experiencing pain, see a doctor as soon as possible.

And, if you are thinking about or have given up running because of pain or fear of injuries, give my course a try. You can order here: http://www.runningtough.com/order.html.

Thanks,

Jerry Hopkins
Author of “How to Run Like a Deer Forever”
jerry@runningtough.com
http://www.runningtough.com

This blog is for educational purposes only. Always consult your own personal doctor for medical advice and follow it even it contradicts what is said in this email.

Copyright 2005

Jerry Hopkins
Hopkins Business Services, Inc.
5314 Yosemite Dr.
Medina, OH 44256
1-866-316-7988