Running, Anyone...?

[babybear]

^haha
he has some good technique videos to try out on his site- and also great book if you haven't read yet- Chris McDougall's other book "Natural Born Heroes" is also excellent

yea I am not a natural fore-foot striker either- in the past my main technique for winning races was to stick behind the leaders and maintain but then lengthen my stride slightly and make the pass
but don't think that's a good LT strategy as I near my 4th decade

[I've seen black diamonds!]

reputable orthopedic surgeon

That's the worst kind.

What I mean is that we should consider what exactly a doctor is an expert in, and not expect her to be an authority on other topics. How much time in medical school is spent on understanding running mechanics, or what sort of workload is appropriate for a runner with particular a injury history? Most doctors can theorize about this, perhaps very well, but lack practical knowledge. The real experts on this sort of thing, the ones are athlete's, coaches and some PT's. There certainly are doctors with both sorts of understanding, but they are not the norm.

[babybear]

I agree- A doc that does your sport is worth their weight in gold bc they get it. Or I also try to see a PT whenever I visit a doc for an injury - just ask them if they will make a prescription for PT. I find they are so so helpful with practical stuff to help recover/ prevent injury in the future too
Of course I recognize that living in a small ski town makes it a little easier since they are doing the same things generally though- or how hard is it to find likewise docs etc for you city slickers? lol

[auvgeek]

or how hard is it to find likewise docs etc for you city slickers? lol

All of the docs and PTs I've seen here in Baltimore (even the supposed "sports medicine" docs) are so used to dealing with obese old people (by old, I mean old in body and mind—those people eat TV dinners and smoke who look 70 at age 45 and have to use a cane/walker for no apparent reason) that they are basically useless. Despite the professional sports teams and universities here, I have not found anyone who works mainly with athletes.

[nutmegchoi]

Doctor I saw used to be a runner and a marathoner.
He also sees Yankee players and other New York professional athletes.
If he sees Jeter and Arod’s knees, figured he can see mine, too. lol

[hutash]

Have you seen a doc who works with runners, or at least athletes, or better yet, a doc, who is an athlete of some sort? I've been told all sorts of horrible gloom and doom about my body's impending collapse by doctors, even specialists who aren't used to working with athletes. Working with someone who understand why we push ourselves and just how capable our bodies are of adapting to imperfections makes all the difference. Same goes for PT's. My current go-to medical practitioner is a PT who was formerly a pro cyclist. She understands even better than I do why someone might undertake a massive physical endeavor when already dealing with an injury. And she listens to what has helped me cope with problems in the past and uses that information to help me make new plans for dealing with shit. It's a lot more helpful than the typical doctor advice of "It hurts? You should stop." Of course it hurts, you idiot, I'm not 25 anymore.

Doesn't always work. My GP was a runner, only a year or two older then me, and he is going in for his first knee replacement soon.

[nutmegchoi]

Doesn't always work. My GP was a runner, only a year or two older then me, and he is going in for his first knee replacement soon.

There’s probably a reason why my doctor stopped running.

Can you still run after a replacement?

[babybear]

my brother was psyched he could finally run after his knee replacement- was too painful for yrs prior

[bodywhomper]

true story: i used to be a heel striker with horrible knee pain. made me not run, for decades. i got back into "trying" to run eight yrs ago - more knee pain. skimmed stuff on the intern3ts about barefoot running and mid/fore-foot strike, and i decided to try my 5 finger shoes for a run, which i used as a river/water shoe. those things forced me to have a forefoot strike and an adjusted stride (and they rocked my calves!). i now run in zero rise minimalist shoes (and generally seek out zero rise shoes and boots for everything else). no problems with my knees since that conversion. it took some practice and focus to change my stride. posture-wise, rather than leaning forward, i think of "push the bush," a concept that i picked up when i learned to telemark ski.

my behaviors were enforced with i received a referral for a physiatrist (look it up if you don't know) for some lower back issues that i was experiencing. he strongly encouraged what I was doing, footwear and all. he generally encouraged following the kelly starrett kool-aid, especially as it pertained to running. the physiatrists is an uber athlete: runner, skier, mountaineer, and climber (several first ascents - per intern3ts).

btw, no back pain for 5+ years.

last time i saw a knee surgeon, he was a muckity-muck in the east bay (on referral). i had some phantom pain. MRI and exterior exam didn't show anything and he said: "i bet if I we 'go in', we'll see something and i'll clean you right up." I didn't go back, and the phantom problem went away.

also, per that physiatrist and the occupational therapist that i was seeing about my hand, ice is passe except for immediately following an injury (like 6 hrs or sooner). heat is "now" the "trend".

[nutmegchoi]

That is a horror story!

“I bet if we ‘go in’ we’ll see something and I’ll clean you right up.”

???!!!

Glad you never went back.
Jesus!

[bodywhomper]

classic surgeon, afaik.

[hutash]

"A chance to cut is a chance to cure."

[4matic]

My elbow and shoulder have both been "cleaned up". I do it again without hesitation. Elbow was a long recovery but shoulder was 90 days better than new. You can be back running on a scoped knee in no time. It's not always a bad choice

[GeezerSteve]

my brother was psyched he could finally run after his knee replacement- was too painful for yrs prior

Wow, that's great to hear. The conventional advice is to avoid running after TKA, but I'd be shuffling/jogging at my age and, although I'm a big boy, I have a low impact stride and I'd be in Hokas. Time will tell.

[galibier_numero_un]

Doctor I saw used to be a runner and a marathoner.
He also sees Yankee players and other New York professional athletes.
If he sees Jeter and Arod’s knees, figured he can see mine, too. lol

Sometimes, it works the opposite way with these high profile orthopedists.

I lived in NYC, and was referred to an orthopedist who treated the Jets. He seemed fed up with patching up warriors, and at least in my 2 cases, he was beyond conservative in treating me.

In the first instance, I saw him about 4 weeks after a nasty medial knee sprain I got on a ski trip. I took one day off that ski trip because of it. His comment to me was "young man, I would have casted you to protect you from yourself". Good thing I didn't see him then.

The second instance was when I was transferred to a walking cast, 6 weeks after having a screw placed to repair a broken talus. I had moved out West, but had to spend a few months back East, and when I saw him, he chided me for putting weight on it. He wouldn't even remove the cast to take an x-ray.

At 8 weeks, he still held me hostage in the cast. At that point, I took control, and went to a sports podiatrist I used to go to. He (being legally allowed to treat for the talus bone), took me out of the get cast and started me on PT.

... Thom

[2bjenny]

also as far as running sneaks I have been on salomons for the past few yrs- I like the last of the speedcross series and it's nice bc you can get essentially the same shoe in a gore-tex/ waterproof version for winter/ off-season and then a more breathable version for summer without having to break your feet into different shoes.
I also have horrible bone spurs from ski boots so I like the lacing system of the salomons

edit: wanted to add I LOVE that you ladies fenced- I totally wanted to be a fencer too when I was a kid- obviously we would have all been school yard friends

I love the speedcross! Have your run in this years 4s? It seems like they are maybe a smidge narrower? I was just thinking i need to try to find another pair or two of the 3s to have on hand when mine wear out and whether or not its to early to get a gore-tex pair for the winter.

[Viva]

At 8 weeks, he still held me hostage in the cast.

It never occurred to remove the cast yourself?! Pussy.

Sent from my XT1650 using TGR Forums mobile app

[nutmegchoi]

I must be stupid.
Just booked Rock ‘N’ Roll Brooklyn Half 6 days after Chicago.
But it was a free registration!!

[Viva]

I must be stupid.
Just booked Rock ‘N’ Roll Brooklyn Half 6 days after Chicago.
But it was a free registration!!

My marathon PR occurred two weeks after a 50 miler.

Yeah, I'm kinda stupid.

[nutmegchoi]

I was originally scheduled to run Marine Corps Marathon two weeks after, but I deferred to next year.
There are some people running Chicago-MCM-NYC.
3 full marathon in 6 weeks would be a bit too much for me.
Just a little bit.

[babybear]

I love the speedcross! Have your run in this years 4s? It seems like they are maybe a smidge narrower? I was just thinking i need to try to find another pair or two of the 3s to have on hand when mine wear out and whether or not its to early to get a gore-tex pair for the winter.

I do have 4's and dont think I noticed a big difference but now you have me curious and I have an old set of the 3's that I keep at my office so will check it out more tmrw
I also ended up sizing up a 1/2 size a bit ago too. I was in between sizes and since my right foot is quite a bit bigger it works out better
I love the tread of the speedcross. I feel like it's so stable on the pebble-y or scree-like running you can encounter a lot around here too

OK will keep my eyes out for that vintage for you in case I see any on STP etc

[babybear]

I was originally scheduled to run Marine Corps Marathon two weeks after, but I deferred to next year.
There are some people running Chicago-MCM-NYC.
3 full marathon in 6 weeks would be a bit too much for me.
Just a little bit.

maybe you should just quit your job and go on marathon tour?

[nutmegchoi]

maybe you should just quit your job and go on marathon tour?

If I was running around 2 hours and 15 minute, definitely.
But I don’t think I can run twice as fast anytime soon.

Did you see Eddie Izzard’s Marathon Man?
27 marathons in 27 days through 100F heat in South Africa!
He is half the size he used to be.
I don’t think he was running in heels, either.

http://www.sportrelief.com/whats-goi...d-marathon-man

[2bjenny]

I love the traction on these too. I'm usually running on a lot of loose rock and lava. It may be just my imagination, once I broke my 4s in I didn't really notice it too much. They just didn't feel as cozy when I put them on the first time like the 3s. I picked up a pair of "vintage" 3s cheap last month that I am rotating in.

[east or bust]

Been logging between 6-9 miles a week for the past month and a half, finally getting back in the groove. On my last couple 3 mile runs I've been able to maintain a 6min/mile pace. It's weird though, when I used to play sports in high school my cardio would always be the factor holding me back. Now it's my legs. Would slowing the pace by 2-3 minutes and running an extra mile or two help for that kind of conditioning?