I woke up this morning with very, very stiff legs after yesterday’s Water of Life Half Marathon.
One of the things I noticed when running yesterday is that the constant tightness of my legs may have actually changed my running style. I now tend to lean further forward when running as it seems to alleviate some of the pressure, but it concerns me for two reasons. One is that it looks bloody stupid, like a chicken running really quickly, the other is that it may actually be doing even more harm.
So I looked up some information on running technique and made a point of doing today’s run super slow but making sure my running style was super right: eyes forward, shoulders relaxed, leading leg falling just under my body weight…
I have also decided to ditch Ibuprofen for a while. When you run, the muscular pain that comes after is down to micro tears in the muscle that are then repaired with new cells by the body, making the muscles stronger. While ibuprofen reduces the swelling in these areas and relieves pain, some studies show that it actually hinders the repair work meaning that muscles may not come back stronger from minor injuries. I’ll see how it goes.
Other than that, I have reverted to tried and tested RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation): I came back from the run, jumped in a freezing bath for ten minutes, have stuck some compression socks on and am now laid with my legs up in front of the fire…
Click here for a Google Map and full details of the day’s run
Miles today: 3
Target: 552
Miles to date: 728.94
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1 comment
Steve Swift says:
March 22, 2010 at 23:39 (UTC 1)
Good going yesterday. Sounds like the kind of course where a PB just isn’t going to happen. Best just to enjoy those kinds of races.
I’ve done a half/m down the coast of Northumberland the last couple of years which last year involved wading through thigh-high water as the tide came in.
When I remember I try and think about my running technique which can’t be that efficient. My upper arms tend to cross above my chest. One of the best bits of advice towards the end of my marathon was from an old guy who just said ‘swing your arms’ . So when I lowered them and pumped them forward it got easier.
Now I try and do that all the time although it stll doesn’t feel natural.