Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Running Injuries, their Prevention & Treatments

One of the benefits of using DailyMile is finding good links to excellent running-related information (thanks, Run Janet!) I am not a physician, and relate the following only as it has been helpful to myself and I believe the information to be sound. The following video is a bit long at an hour in length, but is well worth the time as Stanford University's School of Medicine's Michael Fredericson, M.D. provides a tremendous amount of good advice regarding the prevention and treatment of running injuries.



I recently developed a minor hamstring sprain, and in researching self-treatment options I found two good sources of information, which has allowed me to recover quickly:
I have suffered Achilles Tendonitis/Tendinopathy in the past, and after trying a number of mildly helpful - but non-curative - stretches found progressively weighted eccentric stretches of the injured leg to cure me of the condition.
Fortunately I have never suffered plantar fasciitis, but having several friends who have I have copied three excellent write-ups on-topic:
I have suffered IT Band excess tightness, and found this video from StrengthRunning.com to helpful:


Also from StrengthRunning.com is a very good warm-up set of exercises:

Finally, a few related worthwhile sites or links:

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

My Running Playlist


The following lists my running music playlist that I've listened to for many years, with only a few recent additions. To assure variety I leave my iPod in random 'shuffle' mode during my races and workouts, but if running with a friend leave the iPod at home since  I prefer conversation. Besides enjoying music while running (despite debate about its benefits) I also enjoy listening to action-packed audiobooks and running-oriented podcasts.

Above & Beyond
    Can't Sleep
Aerosmith
        Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
Alice Cooper  
    School's Out
Alice Deejay vs. Timbaland
    Better Off The Way I Are
The All-American Rejects  
    Move Along
Angelmoon  
    Hes All I Want
AR Rahman  
    Mausam & Escape
ATB  
    9PM
Ayla  
    Ayla Part 2
Bachman-Turner Overdrive  
    Takin' Care of Business
Baha Men  
    Who Let the Dogs Out
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals  
    Steal My Kisses
Benny Benassi & The Biz  
    Satisfaction
Bill Conti  
    Going the Distance
The Black Eyed Peas  
    Boom Boom Pow
    Rock That Body
    Meet Me Halfway
    Imma Be
    I Gotta Feeling
    Alive
    Party All the Time
    Rockin' to the Beat
    Where Is the Love?
    Let's Get It Started
Blue Öyster Cult  
    Godzilla
Bon Jovi
    Livin' on a Prayer
Brainbug  
    Rain
Britney Spears
    I Got That
The Cars
    Just What I Needed
    My Best Friend's Girl
    Good Times Roll
    You're All I've Got Tonight
    Shake It Up
    You Might Think
    Magic
Cascada  
    Everytime We Touch
The Commodores  
    Brick House
Daft Punk  
    One More Time
Danny Elfman  
    The Little Things
Darude  
    I Ran
    Sandstorm
Delerium  
    Angelicus
    Underwater
    Silence
    Serenity
    Angelicus
    After All
District 78
    Game On Symphonic Mix - Single
    Game On Symphonic Mix Dance Edit
DJ ENCORE  
    I See Right Through to You
The Doobie Brothers  
    Long Train Runnin'
Duran Duran  
    Hungry Like the Wolf
Eiffel 65  
    Dub in Life
    Living in a Bubble
    Move Your Body
    My Console
    The Edge
    Silicon World
    Europop
    Blue
Elvis Costello  
    Pump It Up
Emerson, Lake & Palmer  
    Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2
Emf  
    Unbelievable
Eminem  
    Lose Yourself
    T.N.T
    Sadness
    Silence Must Be Heard
    Dancing With Mephisto
    Message from Io
    Eppur Si Muove
    Voyageur
    Incognito
Eric Prydz
        Call On Me
Evanescence  
    Weight Of The World
    All That I'm Living For
Faithless  
    Insomnia
Fiori  
    If I
Foreigner  
    Cold As Ice
    Double Vision
    Hot Blooded
    Juke Box Hero
    Urgent
    Feels Like the First Time
Genesis  
    Down and Out
    Ballad of Big
    Invisible Touch
    Tonight Tonight Tonight
    Mama
    That's All
    Home By The Sea
    Abacab
    Turn It On Again
    Behind The Lines
    Misunderstanding
    The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
    Counting Out Time
    Firth Of Fifth
    I Know What I Like
    Dance On a Volcano
    Squonk
    Robbery, Assault and Battery
    All In a Mouse's Night
George Thorogood & The Destroyers  
    Bad to the Bone
Global Deejays  
    Everybody's Free
Haddaway  
    What Is Love
Heart  
    Barracuda
    Straight On
    Magic Man
House Of Pain  
    Jump Around
The Human League  
    Don't You Want Me
Hypertrophy  
    Beautiful Day
Ian Van Dahl & Marsha  
    Castles In The Sky
Jackson Browne  
    Running On Empty
James Durbin  
    Uprising
Jay-Z / Linkin Park  
    Numb/Encore
The Jimi Hendrix Experience  
    Purple Haze
    All Along the Watchtower
Jonathan Peters' Presents Luminaire  
    Flower Duet
Journey  
    Don't Stop Believin'
Kansas  
    Carry On Wayward Son
Kanye West  
    Stronger
Kenny Loggins  
    Footloose
Led Zeppelin  
    Fool In the Rain
    Whole Lotta Love
    Ramble On
    Black Dog
    Kashmir
Lenny Kravitz  
    Where Are We Runnin'?
Linkin Park  
    Breaking The Habit
    Numb
Lionel Richie  
    Hello
Lustral  
    Everytime
Maroon 5  
    Harder to Breathe
Miss Jane    It's
    A Fine Day
Missy Elliott  
    Get Ur Freak On
Motorcycle  
    As the Rush Comes
N.R.C.  
    Here Comes the Rain Again
Nalin & Kane  
    Beachball
Natasja & Enur  
    Calabria 2007
Nirvana  
    Smells Like Teen Spirit
Oakenfold  
    Ready, Steady, Go
Olive  
    Youre Not Alone
Panic! At The Disco  
    I Write Sins Not Tragedies
Pat Benatar  
    Hit Me With Your Best Shot
    Love Is a Battlefield
Pink Floyd  
    Time
    Money
    Run Like Hell
    Have A Cigar
The Police  
    Roxanne
    Message In A Bottle
Postal Service  
    Such Great Heights
The Prodigy  
    Mindfields
Propellerheads  
    Spybreak
Quad City DJ's  
    Space Jam
Queen  
    We Will Rock You
    We Are The Champions
    Another One Bites The Dust
Rage Against The Machine  
    Wake Up
Ramin Djawadi  
    Driving With the Top Down
    Merchant of Death
Rob Dougan  
    Clubbed To Death
Robert Miles  
    Children
Robin Fox
    I See Stars
The Rolling Stones  
    Jumpin' Jack Flash
    Gimme Shelter
Shiny Toy Guns  
    Le Disko
SkinnySongs  
    Thin!
Steppenwolf  
    Magic Carpet Ride
Story of the Year  
    Until the Day I Die
Styx  
    Too Much Time On My Hands
    Renegade
Technotronic  
    Pump Up the Jam
Timbaland  
    Apologize
Tom Petty    Runnin'
    Down a Dream
Trans-Siberian Orchestra  
    Wizards In Winter
Triumvirat  
    The Walls of Doom
U2  
    Vertigo
    Where the Streets Have No Name
Ulrich Schnauss  
    Knuddelmaus
    ...Passing By
Usher  
    Yeah!
Vangelis  
    Chariots Of Fire
Weird Al Yankovic  
    White & Nerdy
Yes  
    Owner of a Lonely Heart
Zombie Nation  
    Kernkraft 400
3 Doors Down  
    Kryptonite
4 Strings  
    Take Me Away

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Chicago's Chill versus Houston's Heat

Having just returned from a two week trip to Chicago I was energized and encouraged to see my running pace, energy and stamina all at levels which I haven't seen in months! Of course the explanation is the comparatively cool Chicago weather conditions versus hot and humid Houston.  Since I'm training for the Chicago Marathon this discovery was highly motivating both via confirming my fitness levels and providing tangible encouragement that by October we will hopefully see good marathon weather conditions in the Windy City.

Additionally, following last weekend's announcement of the tragedy in Afghanistan involving the death of thirty members of the U.S. Armed Forces, I joined a Daily Mile challenge to provide tribute to those brave Americans by running thirty miles.  While competing in this challenge my mind was inexorably focused on the bravery and incredible sacrifice of these men, whose helicopter was shot while attempting to rescue other service men under attack by the Taliban. Without intending to do so I found it impossible to take my normal water breaks every three miles, and ran the entire ten mile distance non-stop with an increasing pace every succeeding mile. Through participation in this challenge, and reflection on the sacrifices and bravery of others the power of the mind to help accomplish feats otherwise unimaginable became clear.