Running out of Rhythm/ my PVC story

I thought I would share a story about my heart specifically about PVCs (premature ventricular contractions). Put simply, PVCs are an extra heartbeat that disrupts the normal heart rhythm. PVCs are very common especially in athletes. Treatment is recommended if symptoms are frequent or if there is a history of heart disease.

To me, PVCs felt like a deep skipped beat in my chest. Initially I would only feel these while at rest (sitting or lying down prior to going to sleep). After I turned 40, and when training in hot and humid weather, I would notice these more often. This summer I participated in the Hood to Coast relay. Shortly after this event and during my fall training my symptoms increased in frequency. I began to notice them daily and while standing as well as rest. My MD and I then decided it was time to get some tests. I opted for a echocardiogram. This test would look at the structure of my heart. It came back normal, but it did confirm I was having PVCs.

Meanwhile, a friend had done some reading on endurance athletes and low magnesium levels. There were several reports of improvements of PVCs with making sure these athletes were getting their normal amounts of magnesium. I decided that it would be worth trying to change my diet and making sure I was getting enough magnesium. I stopped drinking coffee and started eating magnesium rich foods such as almonds and pumpkin seeds. I made sure I took my multivitamin and added a magnesium supplement to make sure I was getting my RDA. I also began my recovery month (lower training mileage. Within a month (December), I could not feel any PVCs in standing and felt very few while at rest. I had my blood tested and requested they check my magnesium levels. My blood work came back normal. In January, I began to ramp up my training. At this time I no longer feel PVCs even at rest.

The moral of this story: SEE A DOCTOR with any heart related symptoms. It is worth getting checked out even if it is just for peace of mind. When I was having my symptoms in the fall, I couldn't train hard without worrying about what was going on with my heart. Get some tests done to make sure everything is alright. Consult a doctor about your diet. There are several research articles on this subject which can be found on Google Scholar. Here are some links to easy read articles on endurance athletes and magnesium deficiency.
sri chinmoy marathon team

Not all sugar is bad!

Check out this post by my favorite sports nutritionist, Nancy Clark RD, CSSD.
Is sugar evil?

Simple running injury prevention tips

Check out the side bar on In Motion for a summary of past posts on simple injury prevention tips.

Stretching

Here is a link to a excellent article on stretching by Vern Gambetta. Too Lose Too Much

Simple injury prevention tip 6...Treadmill running

Today, here in central Indiana we received 9 inches of new snow. This is great to look at and for skiing. Alas, here in central Indiana we don't have any ski slopes nearby. Running outside is going to difficult and will drive most of us to the dreaded treadmill. I decided that I would remind everybody of some common treadmill running/walking mistakes which can lead to injury. This is especially true if you don't run on a treadmill often. There is a tendency when running on the treadmill, to run the same pace for the entire run. This doesn't happen when running outside. We are constantly varying our pace for wind, curbs, terrain and stop lights. Another common mistake is to run an entire workout on an incline. It is very rare to find a 5 mile uphill at 5% incline. Furthermore, when running on the treadmill the trail leg travels further backwards thus increasing the load on the Achilles and 1st toe. On an incline, those forces are even greater which will significantly increase the risk of injury. We advise our clients to avoid sustained inclines and vary the pace frequently during the workout. The treadmill still beats trying to run outside in poor footing.

The neutral shoe quest

If you are looking for a neutral shoe for fitting an orthotic, it just got harder to find. I just got to check out the New Balance 1063 and I am somewhat disappointed once again. In my opinion, the 1063 is nowhere near the feel of the 1061. The 1063 now has a large crash pad resting on a Mizuno like midsole. In my opinion, if you weigh more than 130 pounds and heel strike on the outside edge of your heel, this type of crash pad will increase the angle of heel strike (supination or lateral heel strike). This could contribute to lateral hip, knee pain or shin splint symptoms. It will also likely change the effectiveness of your 400$ orthotic. We try to fit our clients in a running shoe with a more traditional midsole without a large soft crash pad. If you have a neutral shoe that works for you, please share in a comment below. Thanks
Check out my previous thoughts on this topic: Retro Shoes / Soft Crash Pad /Neutral shoes

Darn rocks

My New Year began with a feeling of being well rested. I just completed my downtime month and started my January training with a couple of nice long runs. I was thinking about running a couple winter cross country races. That all came to a screeching halt on Sunday. I had decided that I would go out for a nice easy 3 miler on my favorite trail. After about a half mile I felt a sharp pain in my ankle dove to the ground. Yep, I rolled my ankle. After a few choice expletives, I looked back to see what I got me. I expected to see an unknown stick or root. No, it was a perfect round rock in the middle of my beautiful dirt trail and it didn't belong there. I promptly threw it back into the creek. I have no ligament issues, no severe swelling and no knee issues. I am fairly confident I strained my Peroneal Brevis. This can be a serious injury if it is not treated carefully.

So, time for me to try to listen to my own medicine! I will be hitting the ice bucket, iontophoresis and kinesio tape. No running until pain-free with everyday activities. Time to hit the pool!

Early season half marathon guidelines

Well, It is almost that time of the year to begin half marathon training. It seems that January and February are the most common time for clubs to begin their organized training programs for the May and June races. Locally these races include the 500 Festival Indy Mini, Geist Half and the Flying Pig. Hopefully prior to beginning these programs all of you have been running at least 3 miles 3-4 times per week in December. If you are not currently a runner and are thinking about a spring half marathon we would encourage you to re-think that as a goal for much later in 2009. Stick to the 5k or 10 k distances and have fun with those distances. Let your body adapt to the demands of running for several months, injury-free before committing to a half marathon. For the more experienced runners, hopefully you backed off your weekly mileage in December as compared to November and October. This downtime is important to allow the body a break from the rigors of late summer/ early fall training and the late fall racing schedule. Give the legs a break! Here in the Midwest, it also works out well as our weather begins to really SUCK! Late December is also a good time to work on our functional strength and mobility exercise or add swimming as a way of cross training. Over the month of January and February most half marathon programs begin with a gradual buildup of weekly mileage and long runs. No speed or quality workouts yet. This is a good time to begin to get into a pattern of "de-loading" (2 weeks up / 1 week down). This will allow the body time to recover between the harder work load weeks and will help to decrease the risk of injury. In another post, we will share our guidelines for the next phase of half marathon training for the month of March. Check out some of the online programs but make sure to adapt them to your schedule, skill level and perhaps some of the guidelines on this blog. Good Luck in your training and Happy New Year!

Cool Video on Core work

Sorry it has been awhile since our last post. Here is a link for a video which shows is what is going on here in Indiana at St. Vincent Sports Performance Center. Remember these are elite athletes!

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234127/100476-episode-13-team-indiana-elite-core

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

"neutral" shoes

Don't you hate when your favorite running shoe gets a "model update"? At least if it is discontinued you know it gone and you have to start over with a new shoe. When I hear things like, the new model is coming soon, I just cringe. A couple of years ago, after alot of searching and wear testing, I found that the New Balance 1061 was the a great neutral shoe for me and most of my clients. It provided clients that wear orthotics, a good firm start without a large soft crash pad. I was getting 400 miles on my shoes which was the best mileage on a pair of shoes that I have accumulated in several years. But then with the new year, the 1061 was updated to the 1062. It looks similar but it is not. They extended the crash pad which significantly change the shoe. With video, I am finding that I am no longer able to recommend it as often as I could the 1061. With my running, I now only get 200 miles prior to it wearing out to the point when I can no longer wear the shoe.

Never fear, I think I have found my new favorite "neutral shoe"without a large crash pad: The Brooks Defyance. On video tape it looks to be as good as the 1061 and much more "neutral" than the 1062. It has gotten similar kudos from my clients. I don't have many miles on the shoe, so I don't have a feel for it's durability. Let us hope that Brooks doesn't screw up a good thing with the "new models". New Balance is coming out with the new model replacement for the 1062, the 1063!

Maybe it will be an improvement.

Neutral shoe without large/soft crash pads:

Brooks Defyance, Adidas Boston (no formotion), NB 1062, occasionally the Asics Landreth

Indy Mini-Marathon

For any readers out there that are interested in running the Indianapolis One-America Mini-Marathon in May, the field is 75% full as of today.  You can sign up at:  www.500festival.com

the runner's core exercises

In this post we have listed the key exercises which Lou & I use in order to keep up our baseline strength and mobility. These exercises load the key muscles involved with running. Each of these phases have a different goal and we try do them in this order to achieve these goals. More reps is not necessarily better. As I do these exercises, I try to think of the goal and concentrate on the quality or control of the movement. We try to do these 2-3 times per week on easy running days or rest days. In the off season, in our case winter, we may do these more frequently. Click on the highlighted words for a link to the post which will demonstrate each exercise. I will also eventually add these to our sidebar with updates for the exercises which I don't have a description. Remember give us some feedback with a comment. I never really know if anyone gets anything out of this blog.

Phase 1
Foam Rolling Goal- relax/release key muscle groups / Hamstrings, ITB, quads & hip flexors
I do 20 reps on each muscle group

Phase 2- Gently lengthen muscle groups which were released with foam rolling.
My key areas are my hamstrings and hip flexors.

Hip Flexor stretch

Lower Abdominals -This is a good way to indirectly work lengthen my hip flexors by increasing
the strength of my lower abdominals and stretch my back extensors without
actively loading my hip flexors as with the majority of Pilates exercises.

Phase 3 - With this group of exercises, the goal is to strengthen muscles by isolating the weak ones which try to get out of doing the work (primarily the glutes).

Clams

Bridging series

Arms

Phase 4 Goal- Strengthen the key muscles in a more functional way or to integrate the muscles which were stressed in phase 3. I don't do all of these in one session but rather I pick 2-3 of these. In the next workout I do the ones I skipped in the previous workout.

• Step Overs /Balancing
  
• Step Downs
  
• Lunges/Front Step up (modified lunge)
  
• Squat

Note to readers: Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. The posts on this blog are purely for educational purposes only. The information written in the posts is the opinion of the authors and should not be taken as medical advice.