Welcome March!

Wednesday, March 01, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning,

Welcome March, may you be kind to all!

Update: I did not climb a huge mountain yesterday, but I did for the first time since last Thursday. I went out slow and easy, focusing on stride length and foot strike. My initial plan was 40 minutes, but I was able to run 50 and though I was low on energy, I was pleased. Good feeling and was not exhausted last night, which tells me, I am about recovered from whatever I had. Today, I will either strength train or hit the road again for another run. My body needed yesterday’s run physically, but more so, mentally. I’m sure you get it!

Got the email from the Reds Shoe Barn 5 miler folks yesterday, which is always an indication that spring is around the corner. I will not be around for this favorite of mine, but it is truly a great running tradition for Dover and the Seacoast. Tough hills early, but the last mile is a fly!

Monday’s Exercise Science class was focused on glutes, hips, and quads. All focal points in our running and it gets clearer with each class, as to why we must put more effort in our running as we get older, or put on more miles. Ultimately our range of motion (ROM) is diminished dramatically by our daily activities and our lack of understanding how things are physiologically related. Few of us put enough effort into compensating for our sitting, which has a tremendous amount of impact on our ROM. I have known in general that we need to address those muscles that shorten when we sit, but it is far more reaching than that. Without our glutes working efficiently we force our hamstrings and quads to push/pull us as we run. I no doubt am a classic case of this, as you can see by my running gait that I have very little extension when my feet swing behind me. Essentially, my glutes are doing nothing.

The great news is, we have the technology through running form analysis to identify such problems as well as many others. The idea that we are putting more effort into our running than we need to, should be enough to get you in for a running form analysis, but the fact that no one wants to be injured, is all the more reason to come in. Improper running form will catch up to us through inefficient running or overuse injuries. Limited ROM can lead to imbalances or poor form and after enough steps, chances of injury become greater. We all have those aches that nag us and we typically accept them as part of being a runner or our age. That is not necessarily accurate and in many cases, can be resolved through exercise or stretching the right areas. Everyone has their typical warmup routine and hardly is it precise to what they should be doing. Finding out how we personally function is the first step and then knowing how to prepare our bodies is much easier and effective.

This time of year, is a great time to learn more about your running and what type of strengthening/stretching you should be doing. Contact us at info@nofinishlinerunning.com and let’s talk about how we can get your prepared for the soon to come running season!

Time to run!

Have a great March!

God Bless!

Mike