Category: Runners’ Training

Suggested Treatment For Knee Injury

On By kingofpotsIn Runners Injury, Runners' Training, Running3 Comments

1. If there is swelling, injury can be minimized by keeping the swelling down. This is done with R-I-C-E (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). These are immediately applied after the injury occurs and continuously done for a day or two. After 48 hours, you should start promoting blood circulation by applying heat, massage, gentle exercises, and even ultrasound procedures done by Physical Therapists.

2. Apply ice (using ice bag) to the injured knee right after running/after stretching for ten (10) minutes.

3. Check training paths/routes for banked surfaces and try to run through them.

4. Try available or commercial arch supports. My running shoes are one size bigger because I try to insert arch support/s for more cushioning and comfort to my feet.

5. Strengthen your quadricep muscles through gym workouts. Use the Leg Extension Machine, Leg Press Machine, Elliptical Machine, and Stationary Bike. Start with the lighter weights or lighter resistance. For the stationary bike, you should balance your “cycle resistance” vs. “your cycling RPM”. You should be able to reach up to 60-65 rpm and progress slowly.

6. Experiment and try this. Try pointing your toes slightly inward while running/jogging slowly.

7. Improve flexibility of your calf muscles and hamstring muscles.

8. Got milk? Drink your “warm” milk (non-fat) before bedtime & during breakfast.

9. “Shuffle”, don’t sprint or use ball-heel footstrike. Just “glide” your feet off the ground and slightly bend your knee when striking the ground. Use the “heel-ball” footstrike when “shuffling” to cushion the impact to your knees.

10. Recommend you stick to asphalt roads for your road runs and lots of runs along the golf course’ fairway. Running on asphalt is softer than running on a concrete/cemented road. Running on the grass is the best place to run if you have recurring knee injury. (Note: Watch out for the flying golf balls and hide immediately under the trees on the fairway once you hear somebody yelling “Fore”!)

11. Try “jogging” in the swimming pool. 

12. Have your regular body massage.

13. Sleep at least eight (8) hours every night. Don’t forget to take your mineral & vitamin tablets. If possible, you should make the habit to elevate your knees (with pillows) while sleeping.

14. Pray & Think positively.

Stay Healthy and Good Luck!!!

Tips For Your First Marathon: On Training

On By kingofpotsIn Marathon Race, Practice Runs, Runners' Training, Running2 Comments

1.  Consult your doctor or family physician and get advise from him/her if your body could sustain stressful training for a marathon race.

2.  Maintain a Training Journal/Training Log or a Running Diary with the following data: Date & Time of Run; Duration/Time of Run; Distance of Run (Miles/Kms); Weather; Place of Run; Brief Description of Run (LSD, Speed Runs, “Fartlek” Runs, Fast Continuous Runs @ Race Pace, Tempo Runs, Hill/Trail Workouts or Altitude Training); Blood Pressure & Pulse Rate before your run; and overall feeling before, during and after the run.

3. Progressively increase your weekly mileage but not more than 20% of your previous week’s mileage. Don’t forget to “listen to your body”. Do not overtrain/overstrain your body.

4.  Use your training shoes on D-Day of the Marathon Race. Do not use your brand new running shoes on race day. Do not use also racing flat running shoes.

5.  Do your stretching exercises before and after your running workouts.

6.  Always set aside one or two days per week as your rest day. If injured, take more days to rest. Two weeks is the least you can rest due to injury and be able to catch up and adjust with your marathon training. However, if you miss one month of your running workout, it would be best to scrap your plan to run your first marathon race.

7.  Maintain your body hydrated during long runs. Use any available “water/hydration” belt or pack in the sports stores like “Camelbak, Nathan, Access or Nike” for your long run practices only. I take a sip of water from my bottle jug every 3-4 kilometers.

8.  Don’t miss your long runs during the week. Try to run at least 3 hours or 35 kilometers in one of your long runs at least 5-6 weeks before the Marathon.

9.  Eat moderately and properly. Take a lot of carbohydrates and protein foods. Try to drink not more than three bottles of beer after long runs and speed runs. Take also multi-minerals & vitamins everyday. I take Centrum, Vit C & E, Calcium, & Glucousamine (for my joints/knees) tablets everyday. I also drink Protein Whey after my Gym Workouts.

10. Don’t be afraid or ashame to walk during your long runs. Take a sip of water from your water jug while walking. Take at least one or two minutes of walking and get the feeling of starting to run again.

11. Join road races as part of your marathon training. Select at least one road race every month, 3-4 months before the marathon. Join 10K up to Half-Marathon (21K) races to evaluate your training program. This will also train you to be confident and remove the feeling of nervousness in joining road races.

12. Sleep more hours during nighttime as you increase your mileage. As an average, sleep at least eight (8) hours every night. Take a warm shower before bedtime.

13. Get a decent body massage at least once a week.

14. It is advisable to have your running workout once a day. Preferably, in the morning as most of the road races are conducted early in the morning.

15. Reward yourself every time you reach your training goal every week/month or every road race you join before the marathon.

16. If possible, get a running partner who trains and prepares for the same marathon race you will join. (Note: I don’t follow this as I enjoy and more comfortable running alone)

17.  Read and browse back issues of Runners World Magazine or previous posts of my blogsite to maintain positive feeling on your running program.

18. Think positively. Position your running shoes & running attire in a distinct place in your bedroom where you can see them once you wake up from your bed in the morning.

19. Remember that your primary goal in running the marathon is to finish the race without any injury. You have time to analyze and evaluate yourself on your strengths and weaknesses during your recovery period/after the race. You can make adjustments with your training program if you want to improve your PR best time in your next marathon race and always remember that there are more marathon races in the future.

Training Journal (25 Nov-01 Dec 2007)

On By kingofpotsIn Practice Runs, Runners' Training, RunningLeave a comment

25 Nov 2007 (Sunday)—Race Day: 5th Animo Run at Mall of Asia; 10K/6.2 Miles @ 55:31 minutes; pace of 5:33 minutes/kilometer

26 Nov 2007 (Monday)—Long Run with Slight Tempo Runs at Libingan ng mga Bayani; “Heritage” Mile; Lawton Avenue; & at The Fort. Duration of Run: 2 hrs 35 mins 18 secs. Estimated Distance: 23-24 Kms/15 miles.

27 Nov 2007 (Tuesday)—Rest/No Runs; 30-minute “aerobics & taebo” workout @ Home (Music by Barry White, Bob Marley, James Last & Foo Foo Fighters); 5 sets X 20 reps Push-Ups; 5 sets X 25 reps Bend-Knee Sit-Ups & 2 sets X 50 reps Knee Bends.

28 Nov 2007 (Wednesday)—Speed Play/”Fartlek” Runs at the Libingan ng mga Bayani; Time of Run: 8:30-9:50 AM; 6 reps X 800 meters @ 4:00-4:10 minutes, jog 4:00 minutes as recovery run in between reps; 2 reps X “Heritage Mile” @ 8:00 minutes; Duration of Run: 1 hour & 20 minutes; Distance of Run: 13 kilometers/8.125 miles.

29 Nov 2007 (Thursday)—Tempo Run at the Laoag City Oval Track at 5:10 PM; Duration of Run: 25 laps at 53:20 minutes; Average Pace per Lap: 2:05-2:08 minutes; Average Pace: 5:20 minutes per kilometer/8:35 minutes per mile. Total Distance: 6.2 miles/10 Kilometers.

30 Nov 2007 (Friday)—Short Slow Run on the Roads of Barangay Dibua from 4:10PM-5:00PM; Pace of Run: 6:20-6:30 minutes per kilometer/10:20-10:30 minutes per mile; Total Distance: 7 kilometers/4.375 miles.

01 Dec 2007 (Saturday)—Rest, Massage, Watch the Movie “The Kingdom”, and Sleep Early.

Monday Long Run

On By kingofpotsIn Practice Runs, Runners' Training, RunningLeave a comment

8:15-11:00 AM 26 November 2007 

After my 10K Animo Race yesterday, I planned to have my Monday Long Run to improve my running form and foot-strike on the ground with my new New Balance 902 running shoes.

I started late in the morning as I was expecting more cloudy skies brought about by Typhoon “Mina”. I left my quarters in Fort Bonifacio at 8:15 AM after 15 minutes of stretching. I started slowly on my pacing focusing on my toe-heel footstrike. From the Gate near the Libingan Road, I turned left towards the “Heritage Mile” up to C5 Highway–then back at “Heritage Mile” and then turned left towards the Gate of Libingan ng mga Bayani. I did 2 1/2 rounds around the Libingan grounds taking the outer most roads and then back to the “Heritage Mile” up to C5 Highway. From C5, I passed through the “Heritage Mile” all the way to the Libingan Road up to the Lawton Road going towards The Fort Area.

After passing Essensa, I turned right towards South of the Market & at the back of Serendra taking the road leading to the “Fully Booked” Store at the Bonifacio High Street Mall. I slowly jogged along the stores and establishments that are lined in the said Mall, peeping from one sports store to another. From the western end of the stretch, I turned right towards the MC Home Depot and then turned left towards the first branch of Jollibee at The Fort. I turned left after reaching Jollibee and jogged all the way to McDonald’s, then passing by the front street of Pacific Towers, to Essensa, then to the Main Gate of Fort Bonifacio.

I started to cool down after I entered the Main Gate of Fort Bonifacio and slowly jogged up to my quarters which is about 800-meter distance. My total time for the run is 2 hours, 35 minutes & 18 seconds. I estimate that I was able to run a distance of 23-24 kilometers. For the two hours that I’ve been running, I was having an average pace of 6:00-6:15 minutes per kilometer.

The following target objectives were attained during my long run today: I was able to sustain a continuous ball-heel footstrike for 45 minutes; I was able to continuously sustain my speed at the “Heritage Mile” all the way to the Essensa which I consider as the “Killer Last Two Miles” of the Pasig River Heritage Marathon; improved more on my running form; and develop more endurance & stamina to run for more than two hours.

Slowly, I am improving on my running form with my New Balance 902. I did not feel any pain on my quads, hamstrings, calves, and knees after running for more than two hours. My Nathan “SOB” Water Belt was helpful in this kind of long runs where I made a refill of water in one of the stores at the Bayani Road.

Recap: Training Journal (18-24 Nov 2007)

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Practice Runs, Runners' Training, Running1 Comment

Total Distance: 37.625 miles/60.2 kilometers

Average Pace: 9:40-9:55 mins per mile/5:45-5:55 mins per kilometer

Predicted Time for 10K Run: 56:00 – 58:00 minutes

Predicted Time to Finish Marathon At This time: 4:30:00

Comments: I’ve increased my running mileage this week for about 20% from my previous week’s run and hope to sustain this in order to strengthen my leg muscles and my cardiovascular capability. I’ve started to do my gym workouts to tone my muscles and anticipate/prevent injuries on my leg muscles, tendons, and my knees. I’ll have do more speed runs and speed “drills” at the oval in the coming weeks. For having a nice run and injury-free week, I am going to treat myself with a Movie today and a round of Golf tomorrow afternoon!

Training Journal (18-24 Nov 2007)

On By kingofpotsIn Practice Runs, Runners' TrainingLeave a comment

18 Nov 2007 (Sunday)—Ran 7 X 2-mile route at 2: 20: 00; Pace at 6:15 minutes per km or 10:00 minutes per mile. Total Distance: 14 miles or 22.4 kms.

19 Nov 2007 (Monday)—Rest/No Runs

20 Nov 2007 (Tuesday)—1st Yasso 800s..4 X 800 with 400-800 meters intervals along the 2-mile route in Jamindan. Time: 3:49/3:45/3:46/3:52. Total Distance: 4.375 miles or 7 kms

21 Nov 2007 (Wednesday)—Long Slow Distance run with Speed Tempo runs at Libingan ng mga Bayani & Heritage Park. Time: 1 hour & 48 minutes. Total Distance: 17-18 kms or 11.25 miles.

22 Nov 2007 (Thursday)—Workout at the Gym. Quadriceps workout.

23 Nov 2007 (Friday)—Oval Track run at the Iloilo City Oval Athletic Grounds using my new New Balance 902. Ran 32 laps at an average of 2:15 mins per lap. Time Duration: 1 hour & 15 minutes. Total Distance: 8 miles/12.8 kilometers.

            Swedish Body Massage at Riviera Spa in Iloilo City after Dinner.

24 Nov 2007 (Saturday)—Rest & Watch a Movie!

Gym Workout

On By kingofpotsIn Runners' Training, Running, Sports Program1 Comment

If ever I am in Manila for a meeting/consultation or on official business, I always see to it to visit my Gym everyday. Last Thursday morning, I had my “fastest” gym workout in my entire life which I finished in one hour.

I did lots of dumdbell exercises–bicep curls, tricep extensions, and other exercises I could think of with the dumdbells, from 10 lbs to 20 lbs. I did also the Lateral and Vertical Pulls with the Universal Dynamic Machine doing as much as 3 sets in 15 reps per set at 75-90 lbs for my back muscles.

But the main purpose of my workout was to strengthen my quadriceps. I did Leg Extensions with Flex Fitness Machine with the following variable weights:

        3 sets X 15 reps @ 30 lbs

        3 sets X 15 reps @ 45 lbs

        5 sets X 15 reps @ 60 lbs

I always believe that strengthening the quadriceps will always make the knees better in shape and injury-free.

I did also Bench Press for my arms and chest muscles with the Smith Machine with 50 lbs weight at 3 sets X 10 repetitions.

I finished my workout with Leg Press to strengthen my hamstrings and buttocks’ muscles with 90 lbs weight at 3 sets X 10 repetitions.

My cool down exercise was abdominal crunches on top of a rubber ball at 3 sets X 20 repetitions.

Due to my kids’ membership with Gold’s Gym Los Angeles, they enrolled me as a member when I visited them last December 2003. I just extended my membership with the Gold’s Gym in the country when I arrived back from Los Angeles in January 2004.

I do my workouts at Gold’s Gym Glorietta. I am not building bigger muscles for my body but I just wanted my muscles to be toned and more active by using lighter weights with higher number of repetitions.

The “Heritage” Mile

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Practice Runs, Runners' Training, RunningLeave a comment

Last Wednesday morning, between 7:00 AM-9:00 AM, I had my run from my quarters in Fort Bonifacio to the Libingan ng mga Bayani grounds. I finished 2 rounds of the outer circle/outer roads of the cemetery and went out passing infront of the Heritage Park towards C-5 Road. From C-5 Road, I made my speed run up to the Bayani Road (Ft Bonifacio Gate near the Chapel). I call this stretch as the “Heritage” Mile! This is the place where I totally walked during the 2005 Pasig River Heritage Marathon which took me almost 20 to 30 minutes. I made two sets of running through this stretch from C-5 using the bermuda covered lawn of the park just to remove the “ghost” of the past. It took me at least 8 minutes to run the distance.

From the “Heritage” Mile, I went back to the Libingan grounds and ran another 1 1/2 rounds and then returned to the streets of Paoville (Officers’ Quarters area) and back to my quarters. My whole running time was 1 hour & 48 minutes. I estimate that I was able to run about 17 to 18 kilometers or 11.25 miles.

Comment: I was annoyed and irritated by the sunblock lotion I placed on my face. The lotion got mixed with my sweat and it entered to my eyes. The irritation on my both eyes practically made me blind during the first round at the Libingan. I had to stop at the outpost and asked for bath soap and water from the soldiers/guard to wash my face. I got a lesson from this experience, not to use sunblock again!

Yasso 800s

On By kingofpotsIn Practice Runs, Runners' Training, RunningLeave a comment

I found out about “Yasso 800s” when I started buying back issues of Runners World Magazine for the months of April, June & July of this year. I bought these back issues last month when I started running seriously again. I thought Yasso 800s is some kind of an equipment that improves the performance of a runner or an equipment that measures the strength and endurance of a runner.

My research in the Internet brought me to the article of Amby Burfoot in the September 2001 issue of the Runners World Magazine where he started to use the term “Yasso 800s” based from the training experiences of Mr Bart Yasso in his preparation for a Marathon race. According to Mr Yasso, he runs sets of 800-meter runs and the average time in these runs could predict accurately his time to finish a marathon race. If he averages 2:45 minutes in his 800-meter runs, he predicts that he could finish the marathon in 2 hours & 45 minutes. Simply put, the minutes & seconds a runner could finish sets of 800-meter runs is translated to hours & minutes as predicted time to finish the marathon.

Early this morning, I ordered some of my men to measure a distance of 800 meters, with a measuring tape used by my engineers,  along the 2-mile route I am using in my camp in Jamindan. The first 400 meters is slightly uphill and the rest is relatively plain.

I tried my first Yasso 800s at noon today when the rains stopped. After a short stretching exercises, I did my first set at 3:49 mins and slowly jogged 400 meters. My second run was 3:45 mins. My third run was 3:46 mins. My fourth & last run was 3:52 mins. I between these runs (2nd to 4th) I jogged 500-700 meters as my recovery runs. Before I ended my brief and testing for my first Yasso 800s, I slowly jogged 1 km to cool down. I ended the workout with the stretching of my legs. I ran a total of 6-7 kilometers for the whole Yasso 800s workout.

I am happy with the results of my brief Yasso 800s runs. If Mr Yasso is right in his predictions/theory, I am predicting that I am regaining my power, strength, and endurance when I was a serious runner 25 years ago. This is a positive result after three weeks of serious training for a marathon.

Thanks, Mr Yasso, you will be my regular training partner every week!!!

Sunday’s Long Slow Distance Run

On By kingofpotsIn Practice Runs, Runners' Training, RunningLeave a comment

18 November 2007

For not running for the past three days, I planned to have my long slow distance (LSD) run for Sunday. I felt the three-day rest I imposed to myself made me nervous and uneasy, thinking that the mileage I have ran for the past days would be meaningless and gone to waste. For the past weeks, I’ve been trying to test and evaluate my body if I could still run the Marathon despite the short preparations and training adjustments I have to make while I am doing my job with my unit or command. This is the reason why I came up with a Training Journal so that I can review and evaluate my training progress. But the 3-day rest since Thursday is telling me that my body could no longer take the beating of a Marathon, more so that I am getting older since I concentrated on training and finishing my yearly marathons in the ’80s & ’90s. But my mind would tell me otherwise..I wanted to run some more!

Finally, last night I’ve decided to run even if Sunday is supposed to be a rest day but those three days had made me restless, uncomfortable and uneasy. It seems my body is asking for more beating on the road and for more practice runs. I prepared my grey Accel shorts, white t-shirt, socks and my New Balance running shoes. I slept early last night just to be sure I have at least seven hours of sleep. I had my alarm clock set at 4:30 AM and intend to have my run at exactly 5:00 AM after a short stretching session.

As scheduled, I started my run at 5:00 AM with a small flashlight on my right hand as the surrounding was still dark. I conditioned my mind that this practice run is a long, slow distance run and had to control my pace. After running for almost one kilometer, it started to rain! I made a wrong decision not to wear my Fort Ilocandia Golf Club baseball cap! The rain started to hit/drop on my bald head and the feeling was refreshing. I kept on running while the rain was on and off. On my second kilometer, my sweat started to mix with the rain and my whole t-shirt was damp.

I made my run along the 2-mile route that I have measured inside the camp. Practically, the course is a hill practice route. I prepositioned a number of bottled water at the starting line where I can take a drink every after a round of the route. My first round’s time was 18:48 mins and I had to slow down as I wanted my pace to be slower. I guess, I started to run faster when I felt the rain falling on my head! At least, I wanted to have an average pace of 20 mins per round (2 miles) or 10 mins per mile pace. So, for the next rounds I have to slow down.

I really wanted to test my body how it feels when I run continuously for two hours, not thinking of the distance I could cover for the duration of my run. Slowly and consistently, I was able to finish and stop my run for the morning after completing seven (7) rounds of my 2-mile route. If not for the Sunday Mass which is scheduled at 8:00 AM this morning, I could have run more and test my body at how much time lapsed and how far is the distance that I could cover before I hit my “wall”. I stopped at 7:20 AM and did my stretching exercises after the run. For two hours and twenty minutes, I was still strong and wanted to run some more. But my schedule with God, the Creator for at least one hour per week in our Chapel has the most priority to attend to during Sundays.

For this morning, I was able to run 14 miles or 22.4 kilometers for a time of 2:20:00. This is the longest run I’ve made since I started to train again for the Marathon or be serious again in joining the road races in Manila. I was running at an average pace of 6:15 mins per kilometer or 10:00 mins per mile which was very comfortable and easy for me.

Surprisingly, I don’t feel any pain or any injuries on my feet and legs. I got some rashes on my groin area because of the wet running shorts that always got stucked to the inner portion of my thighs. The rubbing of the wet shorts to my inner thigh made my skin sore. I should had applied more body lotion/oil on my groin area. Anyway, the rashes will be gone in a few days.

Positively thinking, I can conclude that I can still run the Marathon within the four-hour range/sub-five hours if I joined a Marathon Race today! I can feel I am on the right track for my preparations and training for my next Marathon in February 2008. My previous increasing and graduated long runs for the past weeks; hill training runs in Jamindan; regular massage; sleep; and the latest 3-day rest contributed in today’s training accomplishment.

This calls for a celebration..I will drink a glass of Robert Mondavi’s Cabarnet Sauvignon before going to bed tonight!!!