Run Run Away

Question:

I did get an appointment with a foot doctor and although I specifically asked for a sports doctor I couldn’t get one on my insurance.  But he might be good, anyway.  What I need to know from him is if I should even pursue long sprints, like the 400m anymore.  Megan gave me a challenge I might take her up on, and start training for the 800m.  The 800m is almost as anaerobic as the 400m, requires speed, and you aren’t expected to run it on the balls of your feet.  It’s that constant hard hammering on the balls of my feet over long distance that does the damage to me.  I’ve wondered, do you see many old 400m runners or do they eventually lose the resiliency in the joints to take it?   I remember Edwin Moses ran a long 400m hurdle career.  He also was one of the few to make the hurdles in 11 (or was it 13) strides, and probably the first to do it successfully.  But his legs were long, his strides were long, and he ran flat footed if I was watching correctly.  This could be the reason for his long career at this event.  I was also told that Edwin’s use of compression shorts in his latter years was a novel concept, and helped sustain him. The terrifying thing about the 800m to 400m runners is a couple of things. A 400m man knows little about controlling the tempo of a race.  He also thinks the race is so long he’ll die before making the finish line because he has to run so fast as it is.  Well, it really is a different race. When you run a 400m, you try to run the whole thing as a 95% sprint effort with lots of relaxation, and it’s all pre-programmed in.  Gradually you increase effort to 100% but try to maintain form and not get "lock butt." An 800m now requires that you run somewhere like 90% effort and drop down on your heals, something I’m not used to doing in a real race.  I want to get up and let ‘er rip.  It’s hard to control yourself when you come from an all-sprint track background.  Then somewhere in the race you have to jockey for position and find your kick and time it right and that all takes experience.  I just love watching the 800m races because of this, just like the mile, only with more intensity throughout the shorter distance. I was noticing that PR list of outstanding distance marks and saw that while his sprint speed was relatively slow, his slow-down for each doubling of distance was minor.  A sprinter like me has a real problem in that going from sprints like 400m to 800m is so different that the slowdown in that step exceeds any other doubling of distance I have.  It transitions you from sprinter to "distance runner", even if people think it has evolved into a sprint.  Well, it’s really a hard call because it’s neither sprint nor distance.  It takes a specialist to do it right.  Hey, could be fun.  After all, even though I stunk at that distance in high school doesn’t mean I will now, and my high school coach said I would probably grow into a good half-miler if I kept at it.  But somehow leaving the sprints seems like I lost something important to me.  Like if I can’t sprint, I may as well retire again.   I found a running club in my area, the Redwood Empire Running Club, but as always they’re not there to compete in anything less than 3 miles.  They do hold 5 track meets in the summer, though, 100m – 5K. I think I wished I were born with more slow-twitch muscle fibers.

Response:

Well I tried everything except quit.  The injuries just keep getting worse. I have tendonitis all around my ankles and achilles, the backs and sides of my knees, and tight hamstrings.  I tried new shoes, less running, compression, hot tubs, massage, and icing.  Nothing allows me to sprint without damage, not even slow relaxed sprints.  And I can’t possibly run downhill.  I guess it’s back to the boring stationary bike.  Some people’s bodies were probably not meant to take the beating of consistent running.

Take the damn bike out on the roads!  If you have an hour or more to spare, go out and cycle on the hills. If you only have 20 or 30 minutes, than mark out a "track" in you neighbourhood with the minimum of traffic lights/stop signs and sprint around it. I’m doing this right now, and it’s keeping me quite fit…         – Ronan

Response:

Original article deleted … Take the damn bike out on the roads!  If you have an hour or more to spare, go out and cycle on the hills. If you only have 20 or 30 minutes, than mark out a "track" in you neighbourhood with the minimum of traffic lights/stop signs and sprint around it. I’m doing this right now, and it’s keeping me quite fit…

I’m impressed, you must have a keyboard mounted on your handle bars with a wireless connection to the internet .  Sorry, but I couldn’t help myself. Doug Gilliam – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –    - Ronan

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