Sprinting - I'm an idiot

[Nathan]

Tried sprinting for the first time in years yesterday. Did you guys know about the whole warm-up thing? I touched my toes, stretched my quads for a minute or two and away I went. I jogged a good lap and then sprinted for a lap. And that's when I noticed I was pretty badly hurt.

The bottom of my right heel is killing me and so is my right hip flexor. My hip flexor is feeling much better today but man, the bottom of my foot really hurts. I think I need to use, like, running shoes or something. These damn adidas gazelles don't seem to offer the required arch support.

In conclusion, I'm a genius and should be revered for my foresight.

 

[araiber]

Ouch dude. During high school soccer i pulled my achille's tendon- I was out for a good 2 months. I also was taught that in order to minimize impact you want to land softly- heel first and then the rest of the foot. I believe Joggers do this, but maybe it could be used for sprinting non-competitively (lets exclude the fact that your strongest competitor is yourself!).
I should run more often now that I think about it.

 

[Nathan]

It's good to know I still heal quick - things are feeling much better today and will hopefully be good to go for tomorrow. The lady-friend keeps calling me an old man and it's fucking pissing me off - I'm not telling her I hurt myself running. I'm 26. Damn 20 year olds.

 

[s8nlilhlpr2]

ouch! My knees are pretty beat up from skiing, I have to make sure I warm up pretty good or they'll start throbbing. Luckily my track has a pullup/bar station at the beginning, and its a small track.

I would suggest investing in some new running shoes, most are pretty worn out after 6 months. My older sister runs marathons frequently, and always has at least 4-5 pairs of shoes for running in. As one gets too old she'll cycle in a new pair until its broken in during short runs.

 

[Nathan]

Uh...I've been using the same pair of adidas gazelles for a couple years now. Man, people spend all this time and money buying shit to adapt to YOU. Fuck that. Do you really think we evolved to not be able to sprint ever with bare feet? I'm going to tough this one out like everything else, stick to my shit equipment and ten to one, I get through it just fine. I'm not saying great running shoes won't help, I'm just saying that your body tends to adapt to these things if you push through a little pain. Sure, it has its limits but I doubt the quality of my running shoes is one of them. I really think people with injuries who use them as an excuse to not work are pussies for the most part, quite frankly. I don't care if you had your fucking legs torn off, when the bleeding has stopped, get your ass back in the gym. I went today, limping as I waddled over to the weights. It's like eating - you would be surprised at what you can get yourself used to choking down, but if you always give yourself candy then yeah, you're going to bitch when you have to eat some vegetables. Man, this turned into a rant. Crap. I apologize - just ignore me.

I will need to warm-up more though before sprinting, that much is for sure.

 

[s8nlilhlpr2]

nope, you *can* sprint barefoot all you want, just make sure its on clean grass or sand or something simliar. We have NOT evolved to run on concrete, which is damaging to the knees/ankles. Proper running shoes provide cusion to absorb this impact. If you "push through the pain" wearing crappy shoes, generally you develop shin splints..not fun.

Simply some advice.

 

[Sim882]

With respect Nathan, we were designed to sprint barefoot as you said, but we were not designed to live past 30 or 40.

Given that all of us want to be training for many years, I think good shoes and training equiptment are useful aids in ensuring that our joints are not screwed up by the time we are old.

From personal experience, I regularly go for 10km + runs, and last year on one occassion I couldn't find my runners, used tennis shoes for a usual concrete run, and damaged my knee and was unable to do runs for 4 weeks (I couldn't bend and straighten the knee properly. I don't think I was being "whimpish", and instead decided to swim for fitness [an activity I hate] as opposed to run). It was my lesson not to run in poor shoes (similarly, I injured my achilies hill this year as my running shoes had overly aged and provided poor ankle support, but fortunately I was able to run with ankle straps and new shoes 1 week later and could still do leg exercises other than calf raises)

 

[silver_shadow]

you should read a bit of coolcolj's logs - he lives and breathes that kind of thing.... always has lotsa good info too!

 

[Nathan]

What you guys are saying is true and I was just being difficult. Really, I can't afford nice new shoes. So if I want to sprint, it'll be in my gazelles. And yes, I need shoes, but I already have a pair. I may find it's a problem or I simply cant' get away with it and if that is the case, I will adapt. A thicker sole on my shoe would be nice but hopefully my heel will harden up a bit.

Sim - That's what I meant - you worked around your injury but you didn't just pack in training altogether. You got off your ass and remained active. I didn't mean senselessly keep pushing through an injury even if it'll get worse.

 

[Kabeetz]

No, you need new shoes Nate. They should be changed every three months. You can find cheap running sneakers that are as high quality as anything.. Nordstrom is having its anniversary sale starting friday... new balance running sneakers from like 110 down to 60.

Get urself some sneakers. U can't skimp on health and support.

 

[Nathan]

No, you need new shoes Nate. They should be changed every three months. You can find cheap running sneakers that are as high quality as anything.. Nordstrom is having its anniversary sale starting friday... new balance running sneakers from like 110 down to 60.

Get urself some sneakers. U can't skimp on health and support.

Seriously, I'm a student and there is no way that is in my budget. I'd sooner not sprint - never take up a hobby you can't afford.

Thanks for talking me out of trying something new guys! Geez. I don't skimp on health and support - I just don't think the shoes are going to make or break this for what I am trying over here. I might not even stick with sprints and my other shoes are not hurting my lifts any. Just so long as you guys get that even if you posted up 10,000 scientific studies illustrating why I NEED to be buying new shoes and shit, I still wouldn't do it. I'm not wasting my money on shoes when I haven't bought an article of clothing in....I can't even remember how long.

The only down-side to the whole student thing is keeping your eyes peeled for girls who are only after your money.

If I decide to go for the Olympics, I'll check back in and get some solid shoe advice from you dudes.

 

[st8grad]

Bro, you can fuck things up real good by not having decent shoes. Can you do you sprints on a soccer field or high school football field somewhere? Then it shouldn't be a problem in the gazelles.

Seriously, I'm a student and there is no way that is in my budget. I'd sooner not sprint - never take up a hobby you can't afford.

Thanks for talking me out of trying something new guys! Geez. I don't skimp on health and support - I just don't think the shoes are going to make or break this for what I am trying over here. I might not even stick with sprints and my other shoes are not hurting my lifts any. Just so long as you guys get that even if you posted up 10,000 scientific studies illustrating why I NEED to be buying new shoes and shit, I still wouldn't do it. I'm not wasting my money on shoes when I haven't bought an article of clothing in....I can't even remember how long.

The only down-side to the whole student thing is keeping your eyes peeled for girls who are only after your money.

If I decide to go for the Olympics, I'll check back in and get some solid shoe advice from you dudes.

 

[Nathan]

Bro, you can fuck things up real good by not having decent shoes. Can you do you sprints on a soccer field or high school football field somewhere? Then it shouldn't be a problem in the gazelles.

See? Excellent idea. Thanks man.

 

[s8nlilhlpr2]

See? Excellent idea. Thanks man.

thats what I was gonna say, find some grass to run in, it won't hurt nearly as bad. Even just running next to the sidewalk is a lot better than the concrete.

 

[needtogetaas]

Tried sprinting for the first time in years yesterday. Did you guys know about the whole warm-up thing? I touched my toes, stretched my quads for a minute or two and away I went. I jogged a good lap and then sprinted for a lap. And that's when I noticed I was pretty badly hurt.

The bottom of my right heel is killing me and so is my right hip flexor. My hip flexor is feeling much better today but man, the bottom of my foot really hurts. I think I need to use, like, running shoes or something. These damn adidas gazelles don't seem to offer the required arch support.

In conclusion, I'm a genius and should be revered for my foresight.

http://iach.amedd.army.mil/sections/clinics/physicalTherapy/information/RunningShoeSelection.pdf
good read on running shoes form the army.they know about long distance running.

 

[s8nlilhlpr2]

http://iach.amedd.army.mil/sections/clinics/physicalTherapy/information/RunningShoeSelection.pdf
good read on running shoes form the army.they know about long distance running.

that was a cool read thank you.

 

[Nathan]

http://iach.amedd.army.mil/sections/clinics/physicalTherapy/information/RunningShoeSelection.pdf
good read on running shoes form the army.they know about long distance running.

Great post man. Thanks.

 

[needtogetaas]

Great post man. Thanks.

always here to help.

 

[Sculelos]

Hmmm, I sprint in my regular shoes but I don't have any pain either so I'm pretty sure I'm safe although If I ran long distance I definitely would want some running specific shoes.

 

[Sim882]

Great post man. Thanks.

Nathan, another option that would be ok with cheap shoes is to use a treadmill on the steepest incline at the gym, and set it up for speed intervals.

Some people don't like this option of sprinting on treadmill, but I find that on a really steep incline, you can set it so that you have say 30 seconds walking, 30 sprinting and get a right pace such that your totally stuffed at the end of the 30 seconds and need to grab on to the handbars as soon as the 30 seconds is over for recuperation. Sprinting on an incline treadmill seems to be a good hamstring and calf work out. The beauty of this is that if you can always increase/decrease the difficult as the exercise progresses.

I think treadmills are pretty gentle on the body and its something I use if my ankle looks like its about to play up

 

[silver_shadow]

Nathan, another option that would be ok with cheap shoes is to use a treadmill on the steepest incline at the gym, and set it up for speed intervals.

Some people don't like this option of sprinting on treadmill, but I find that on a really steep incline, you can set it so that you have say 30 seconds walking, 30 sprinting and get a right pace such that your totally stuffed at the end of the 30 seconds and need to grab on to the handbars as soon as the 30 seconds is over for recuperation. Sprinting on an incline treadmill seems to be a good hamstring and calf work out. The beauty of this is that if you can always increase/decrease the difficult as the exercise progresses.

I think treadmills are pretty gentle on the body and its something I use if my ankle looks like its about to play up

having done a bit of sprinting before i can tell you that it's a different experience altogether on the treadmill. you just can't get your whole body (i mean the pumping action with the arms) on the treadmill which reduces your power. anyway if someone doesn't mind it, that's fine.

 

[silver_shadow]

you could also use wraps around your feet and ankles. keep them on the tighter side.... i competed once long ago in the 100m with a badly sprained and swollen ankle.... just wrapped it quite tightly... of course i was using spikes on a synthetic track too. but i think it might be beneficial in your case too.

and another thing - i remember CCJ mention something about running style. he did mention that a lot of gym rats sprinting for the first time since maybe childhood, try to power through with their quads. i don't remember the remedy he suggested unfortunately, maybe you could run a search or ask him. i think it had something to do with jumping on and off a step. aim to do it as many times as possible within 20 secs or something... but ask him first!