Ten years ago, I was 35 lbs over weight and it took me 2-3 years of running to improve my performance and control my weight.  The main reason it took me so long was because I did not eat enough before, during and after my runs, especially my longer runs.

When I learned about the amount of calories my body needed to run vs. being inactive, I realized that to control my weight and improve my performance, I actually needed to eat more, not less, around and during my runs. For example:

• Running for 1.5 hours = approx. 900 calories (100 calories/mile x 9 miles)
• Inactive for 1.5 hours = approx. 100 calories

For a 1.5 hour long run, you are burning a total of 900 calories which is the equivalent of fasting for about 9 hours – basically, a mini-starvation that forces the body to conserve NOT expend energy.  The goal of performance, energy and weight maintenance is to increase metabolism and have carbohydrates readily available before, during and after the run.

Now I always ensure I eat enough before, during and after my runs. For instance, my pre-run meal 2 hours before a long run is coffee, oatmeal, and banana. During a long run I drink Gatorade and eat Gu Energy gels every 30 minutes. In my last marathon my pace was faster than my training long run so I was able to consume 12 gels (including 3 Gatorade equivalents) in a 162 minute marathon race equalling 1 gel (or equivalent) every 13.5 minutes.  Yes, I did feel a little nauseous towards the end of the race, but I was able to maintain my pace.  After a typical long run, I often refuel with a protein shake, eggs with spinach and tomatoes, Udos oil, and toast with peanut butter and jam.

Overall you need to experiment with different food combinations yourself, but if you are limiting calories to lose weight, near to and during a run is not the time to do so.

http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/To-Eat-or-Not-to-Eat-Pre-Workout.htm?act=EMC-Active&Vehicle=Insider&Date=03_17_10&Edition=1&Sections=Articles&Creative=To_Eat_or_Not_to_Eat_Pre-Workout_&TextName=To_Eat_or_Not_to_Eat_Pre-Workout_&ArtText=Txt&Placement=2&Dy=Wed

The article claims that distance running may actually be better for the joints than many other sports and not running at all. For example, running may benefit your knees and help you overcome knee pain.

You may want to pass it on to the non-runners in your life, who may be concerned that running is detrimental to your health.

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/diet-fitness/Debunking+jogging+myths/2636313/story.html

Arch height and injury prevention

Even though any injury can occur in any runner regardless of their arch height, the follow generalizations are found in the research:

• High arches tend to be stiffer and can increase the incidence of foot and femoral (upper leg) stress fractures as well as lateral knee/Iliotibial band (ITB) pain or injury compared with runners with flatter feet.

• Low arches tend to be more flexible resulting in excessive stress of the plantar fascia, achilles tendon, calf muscles, tibial (shin) bone and surrounding muscles.
• Recent research suggests that arch height is less relevant than the RATE of pronation during foot strike.  The faster the runner’s rate of pronation, the more likely he/she is to get injured.

• The good news is that the rate of pronation can be reduced and controlled by core, hip and foot strength and stability.

Arch height and performance:

• Although high arches and flat feet exist at elite levels of sprinters and endurance runners, higher arches tend to be found in distance runners and flatter feet are more common with sprinters.  For the rest of us, the good news is that the body can adapt to any foot type if the training program builds gradually enough for the individual.

In summary, a very gradual training progression in addition to core, hip and foot strength exercises are important for runners to integrate into their training so they can help to control their rate of pronation, regardless of their arch type.

Bottom of the foot or heel discomfort often means plantar fasciitis but there are several other diagnoses that you may need to consider and get treated sooner such as entrapment neuropathies, skeletal conditions, inflammatory conditions or soft tissue conditions.

Some traditional self-treatments methods for plantar fasciitis include: ice, stretching foot, calf and hamstring muscles, strengthening (towel pull with toes, heel drops), heel pads/inserts, tennis ball massage, night sock/splint and wearing supportive shoes (outside and at home).

Other self-treatment methods that I and my patients have had success with include:

• Before getting out of bed in the morning (or before taking your first step if you sleep standing up), massage the painful area, usually on/near the heel, for 20-30 seconds, then stretch your calves once you stand up
• Replace your shoes:
  • You may need a new pair of the same model
  • You may need a different brand of shoes or type (i.e. cushioning, motion control, stability)
  • Your shoes may need a different size of shoe (i.e. sliding if too big can cause plantar fasciitis stress)
• Avoid running hills and speed until symptoms subside
• Limit standing and walking until symptoms subside
• Avoid forward lean when running as this puts more of a stress on calf muscles (especially 3^rd layer going into the foot)
• Stretch hip flexor to prevent a forward pull of the psoas (upper hip flexor) muscles on the low back causing a forward lean
• Avoid (or at least wait) to try barefoot running or ‘minimalist’ shoes.

If these methods to not work, you may need to seek help from a health care provider – ideally one who runs and does some sort of hands-on soft tissue technique.  In other words, once an appreciable amount of adhesions (may feel like a small painful nodule at or near base of heel) develop then time off, stretching and/or exercises may not be enough.

NOTE: Everyone has a natural technique. If any of these tips cause excessive distress or soreness, please refrain. Please only try one tip at a time as a focus for only part of a run.

Background Information:

• As in cycling, having a quick turnover in running is important.
• The optimal number of steps/minute is 180. If you can be within 10 counts of this, that would be great (i.e. 170).
• Changing your cadence takes time so you must be patient and work on it slowly.
• Practice about once a week.
• After you have established a good cadence, you can work on increasing your stride length, but must not slow your turnover/cadence in the process.

Workout:

A running cadence rate of 170 -180 steps/minute must be established first! Only THEN attempt a longer stride without reducing cadence.

• Warm up jogging easily for 10-15 minutes
• Dynamic stretch (leg swings)
• Jog for 1 minute and count how many steps you take
• For 5 more sets of 1 minute (with a 1 minute regular jog or walk in between for recovery) you will increase the number of steps you take by 2 or 3. Do not try to open up your stride. You will be taking smaller faster steps. It feels very strange, but you’re teaching your legs to run over at a faster rate.

For Example:

• When you jogged, you counted 165 steps in 1 minute.
• In round 1, you could try to run 168 steps in 1 minute.
• In round 2, you could try to run 171 steps in 1 minute.
• In round 3, you could try to run 174 steps in 1 minute.
• In round 4, you could try to run 177 steps in 1 minute.

• After 4 sets of 1 minute, you will then run 5 minutes continuously. Try to hold the mid-range turnover 171-174 steps/minute.  So just count how many steps you take about every second minute.  The rest of the try to get a feel for the cadence.
• Open up your stride in an exaggerated (but safe) way to dynamically open up your hips (stretch) 2-3x for approx. 10 seconds.
• Cool down with a 5-10 minute easy jog.

We aim to inform you about current running research to help you achieve your personal fitness goals. By providing you with up-to-date information about running technique, injury prevention and treatment, we want to motivate you to practice personal experimentation in order to run better.

Hope you enjoy our site and we would love to hear your comments.