How to Avoid Injuries: Tips from the Guardian

Last year the Guardian announced that its strategy was to put digital first and it is interesting to see how their digital products take on a life of their own, especially the website. For some time it has not been just an electronic version of the printed page, for example breaking news and live blogging, videos, podcast, and links have been around for some time. What I hadn't realised though was the way they also use the fact that there are no physical constraints on length online to run expanded versions of the printed articles.

Today there was an article on how to avoid running injuries by Sarah Phillips and it is fascinating to see how it was subbed to fit the space. The paper has 950 words but this only represents only 40% of the full online article.

So what has been left out? Some people didn't make the cut at all: 2 elite athletes (Ben Moreau and Benedict Whitby), Dr Joanna Scurr a biomechanics expert, and Boris Bozhinov a gait analyst. All of them had interesting things to say and I might have made a different choice but something had to go and there is no overwhelming reason to choose one tip over another. However I do regret a paragraph from Ben Moreau was cut:

"Most injuries come from the fact that the body isn't ready for it yet. All of a sudden people start hammering themselves, getting really into it at the beginning, and the injuries come from there. I would tell people to build up their training really slowly, and don't feel that every week has to be their best ever. If you build up for a couple of weeks then have an easy week, that allows the body to recover and cope with the extra stress, then slowly start to build again."

I believe most injuries are caused by training errors in trying to drive yourself too hard (and not heel striking as is suggested by Dean Karnazes). This was the clearest warning of that.

Overall though I feel the article is full of good tips on what I think is the most important running subject. Being able to run fundamental everything else is just trying to make the best of that ability.

2011 Streak Day 278 (Saturday Oct 8th): A good morning

2011 Streak Day 278 (Saturday Oct 8^th):Cycle 12.97 miles. Time 57min Weather mostly overcast 

After showing some bagged up leaves I thought I ought to balance the picture by showing that it is not all neat and tidy round here.

Otherwise all that I want to say is that this comes very close to being a perfect Saturday morning. Out on the bike for a short ride, which included a hill long enough to give me the satisfaction of having worked a bit, then to a coffee shop for a flat white and to read the Guardian. The ride sharpens the mind and I read the paper with a relaxed concentration. It felt good.

This is the great advantage cycling has over running: you can dress normally and manage your pace so that you don't become a sweaty heap. This means that in the cafe you can feel perfectly at home. If I was running I would be in shorts and a T shirt soaked with sweat and if I stopped for any length of time I would soon get cold. It would not be pleasant.

The other thing that amused me today was riding up the hill. (That is not a sentence I have ever used before!) At the same time there was a post van delivering mail to the houses  so we played box and cox. I passed him when he was delivering , he passed me when driving. It was like being in an episode of Postman Pat.

P.S. It would have been much closer to being a perfect morning if the English rugby team had not been so inept and lost to a poor French team in the World Cup. Ho Hum!

2011 Streak 257 (Saturday Sept 17th): Small pleasures

2011 Streak 257 (Saturday Sept 17^th): Walk 3 miles, Time 1hr, Weather - There were clouds

I think I should now celebrate small pleasures. Not the big stuff that lifts you up and gives you a sense of your identity, not the set pieces you plan for, nor even the things you feel you can't live without. No I want to celebrate the little things that make you feel just that slightly better. Mostly they are simple, often they can be semi-routines (not totally a routine though because once something becomes a habit you lose the sense of attention).

One of mine is to walk to a coffee shop and read the Saturday Guardian in a slow, relaxed way. Always I will find something to catch my attention away from the mainstream news, whether it be a personal story or an essay. I don't read the whole paper, that would take too much time and anyway I like to hold back the review section for the following day, but just enough to make the time seem well spent.

Today for example I was  interested in an article by Ian Jack about the differing fates of Tony Hayward, who was the CEO of BP at the time of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and J Bruce Ismay, who was the Chairman and managing director of the White Star Line when the Titanic sunk. Tony Hayward has now moved on (as jargon would have it) to another venture which has raised £1.35bn by floating on the stock market. However the shame of the Titanic and the opprobrium of public meant that Ismay never quite got his life back again. As Ian jack said "This is what shame and feelings of personal responsibility did, once upon a time." but now "Public disgrace – the fact of it, whether justified or not – no longer presents an obstacle to powerful careers."

An interesting comparison of changing mores and what I look for in my Saturday read - a broader perspective on what is happening, something more considered than the endless chatter of rolling news.

P.S. Summer might have been rubbish by any normal summery criterium but the slight consolation has been some spectacular cloud formations. This dark sunset in today's picture is an example among many.

2011 Streak 120/365: Some of these roads are now famous

2011 Streak 120/365: Cycle - 21.98, Time - 1hr 38min, Weather - the skies were once more blue.

In the last post I talked of mutual support and encouragement. Today's ride had a small example.

I passed a rider at the side of the road and asked if he was OK. He was, he was just adjusting his saddle, but from that we started a conversation (inevitably about our bikes and where we rode). As he had just finished his adjustments, we set off together and chatted for a while before our routes diverged. It was a pleasant but not only did it my ride a little lift it also gave me something to think about. 

He had had a Specialized BG fitting session and was full of enthusiasm. he explained the whole session took about 90 minute session but one of the big benefits was that they had discovered his shoes needed inserts to maintain a steady platform. This had helped cure some knee problems - and immediately bells started ringing in my head. Would it help me? I am always fiddling about with the positioning of my cleats and never quite sure if my set-up is right. Perhaps I need to find out. I suppose the, however, that the main thing putting me off is the price. I am not sure if £120 is a lot to pay for some tweaks or cheap for something that will be transformative. However if it can cure knee problems I should certainly sign up.

On the ride I travelled along some roads mentioned in the Guardian's feature 'Easy riders: 10 scenic cycle routes around England' . (Aldbury to Frithsden). They were right about the pubs. I would recommend both of them, especially the Alford Arms. However I was quite impressed that a feature about easy cycling called Toms Hill (the road out of Aldbury) a gentle climb - it is actually quite hard work.

But that is a minor quibble beside the fact that these roads are now famous.

A Fragment of Life

Juneathon day 26: run 14km time 1hr 23min

One of my pleasures is to drink some good coffee whilst reading the Saturday Guardian, in a leisurely, relaxed way. It doesn’t make me think that all is well with the world - the purpose of newspapers is the opposite but there is usually at least one article that is really stimulating and makes me glad it was written.

The pleasure is enhanced if it happens after a run. There something about the mental ease one feels after a longish run that makes you savour the moment even more. This plus the fact that you are physically a bit weary and do not want to be doing anything too active

Today was no different.

The article I would want to bring to your attention was and opinion piece by Lynsey Hanley about Newcastle’s Literary and Philosophical Society. I rather liked the last paragraph:

“There needs to be a return of focus towards what the writer and academic Raymond Williams called "the articulation of what men have actually seen and known and felt". "Any restriction of the freedom of individual contribution," he wrote, "is actually a restriction of the resources of the society." To get from Neil Tennant to Raymond Williams and back in one train of thought, you need to learn what people have seen and known and felt. You need libraries.”

I certainly agree that we need libraries and any article that says such a thing makes my Saturday ritual a little bit more congenial. But the article also reminded me of the reason for this blog. It is my attempt to examine what I see, know and feel about running. Admittedly running maybe a small fragment of life but it is still something worth recording.

Juneathon statistics 26/26
Run 18/25
distance 133.03km
time 12hr 29min
Cycle 5/26
distance 81.8 miles
time 6hr 16min
Gym 3/26