Guest Blog: How to Stretch Your Hamstrings

Today's guest post comes courtesy of Michelle Zehr of Running Shoe Guru. Running Shoe Guru has some great shoe reviews, and since they have a whole bunch of reviewers with different biomechanics (and probably more money to spend on shoes than I do), they're able to offer a wider variety of reviews than I can alone, so if you're curious about a shoe you don't see on my blog (or if you want another person's opinion of a shoe that is here), check them out! So a big thanks to Michelle for providing this article!

One note before we get started: The stretches described in the article are static stretches, so I wouldn't recommend doing them prior to running. If you do choose to stretch before running, go with something dynamic, like leg swings, since static stretching before running is believed to decrease performance. However, static stretching after running is very good for muscle elongation, which can be useful for preventing imbalances if you are tight in certain areas. Additionally, since your muscles are warm from running, stretching after running makes you less likely to tear something while stretching. Never stretch to the point of pain...you want to feel a gentle stretch, something that you could hold all day if you absolutely had to.

Shoe Responsiveness, Defined

It's come to my attention that everyone seems to define "responsiveness" in shoes differently. I throw that term around a lot in my reviews, so it would probably do us all a lot of good if I explained what, exactly, "responsiveness" means to me, so that you would at least know what I'm talking about in my reviews.

Hot Weather Running

Runners have got to be some of the whiniest people I've ever met. When it's cold, I swear half my Facebook friends have some status up about how miserable it is to finish a run with icicles on their eyelashes or how painful it is to defrost in the shower after a run. When it finally gets above freezing, the statuses change to how much everyone hates cold rain. Then it gets hot out, and then everyone starts complaining about the heat and humidity. Don't get me wrong, I love perfect weather as much as anyone, and I've been known to whine mightily when it's gross out. However, you don't have to run for long before you realize that the gnarly days far outnumber the beautiful days, and the chances that your goal race falls on a day with absolutely perfect weather is slim to none (and if you only train on beautiful days, you're not going to be very good). Luckily, some bad weather is "less bad" than others (i.e. -5 °F and windy is better than 35 °F and raining, and both are better than 60 °F and hailing), and most of it can be combated with proper clothing, correct hydration, and other preparation. Like any other less than ideal weather, hot weather running brings with it certain challenges.

Carbo-Loading

With marathon season underway, there are surely several nutrition questions running through people's minds. "What should I eat the day before the race?" "What should I eat the morning of the race?" "Should I alter my morning routine at all?" "Should I do a carbo-load?" "What is a carbo-load?" Et cetera. Nutrition is a big topic that's impossible to cover in one blog post (or even one blog!), but in this post, I'll attempt to explain carbohydrate loading.

Inherent Stability in Shoes and the Myth of the Purely Neutral Shoe

I often hear people saying that they are neutral runners, and so they can't tolerate any stability whatsoever in their shoes. Instead, they insist they need a purely neutral shoe with absolutely no stability features. Then they go buy a shoe like the Brooks Ghost 3 and say they bought the most neutral shoe they were able to find. If that shoe's as neutral as you get, I wonder what they would say if they tried on the Saucony Kinvara, Nike Free, or, God forbid, the Vibram FiveFingers (just kidding, VFF fans). Even a shoe like the Nike Pegasus is a small step down in stability. Don't get me wrong, the Ghost is a fine shoe, and it's one of the more neutral trainers in Brooks' line, but it's certainly not the most neutral shoe out there.

Neutral Pronation vs. Overpronation vs. Supination Explained

In a previous post on running shoe selection, I briefly went over foot mechanics. However, it's come to my attention that a number of people don't truly understand the concept, and it's no wonder given the wealth of bad and/or oversimplified information out there (Runner's World, I'm looking at you). People aren't stupid. They don't want the watered down version that says to do a wet footprint test and buy your shoes based on that, because 90% of the time, the oversimplified version doesn't even work. They want to be able to make an informed decision and buy the right shoes. For example, high arches and a lateral wear pattern (wear on the outside of the shoe) doesn't necessarily equate to supination. High arches can contribute to supination, but they are not the only factor. And lateral wear pattern can be caused by supination...or it can be caused by forcing yourself to run unnaturally on the outside of your feet to minimize pain caused by wearing the wrong shoes (a forced and unnatural gait that will almost certainly result in injury).

Strength Training for Distance Runners

Doing some strength training is an important part of a training program. Strength training helps to correct muscle imbalances created by running, which in turn, helps to prevent injury. It also builds muscle that can allow you to handle a greater workload. However, it can also take valuable energy and time away from running training, and actual running is, without a doubt, the best way to get better at running. Additionally, putting on a lot of muscle weight in areas that don't directly aid running equates to dead weight that you have to drag through your races (and while a certain amount of body fat is crucial for fat-soluble vitamin absorption and maintaining body function, body builder arms are not). Therefore, the key to effective strength training is, like any other aspect of running, specificity of training.

Progression, Specificity of Training, and the Value of Having a Coach

The other day, my friend Luke wrote a commentary on his progression as a climber versus his progression as a runner. I told him I was going to comment on his post, but I felt that there was some value to posting it on here.

First, a little background. I met Luke sophomore year of college, when two of my teammates and I decided to check out the rock climbing wall. Luke was one of the better climbers: super strong, and extremely dedicated to not only his own improvement, but also the progression of the people with whom he climbed. After graduation, Luke began running, jumping in pretty hardcore and managing to qualify for Boston in his first marathon, though climbing remains his primary endeavor. Anyway, if you haven't read his blog post yet, Luke compares and contrasts his running training with his climbing training. For the most part, he's pretty spot on. However, I did want to make a few comments pertaining to the later progression of running.

Marathon Training and the Long Run

If you're reading this blog, you no doubt know that we're approaching marathon season. The Mardi Gras Marathon and Half was last weekend (Molly Pritz, rockstar that she is, rocked the half in 1:11:05 to take second overall female! And to make me look unbiased, Kim Smith ran the fastest half by a woman on US soil, winning in 1:07:36), and the training for most people who are running a spring marathon is now underway.

Focus

Yesterday, I did a quality two hour trainer workout. As a grad student, I felt obliged to try to get some studying in during the workout. This was no problem during the warmup and some of the early steady state stuff. But as soon as the tempo and power intervals started, I found my focus changing to the workout itself. It was unconscious, and every time I tried to refocus on anatomy, no matter how hard I tried to focus on the rotator cuff and its innervation, within two seconds my mind was back to the workout, either monitoring cues from my body or focusing on my cadence and power.

How to Choose the Right Running Shoe

NOTE: I will leave this post up for completeness's sake, but there is some outdated material in here (It's from January 2011!). Fair warning. ;)

When you walk into a running store, you're surrounded by walls of shoes. However, not every shoe on that wall is going to work for you and keep you healthy. What shoe you require is dictated by your biomechanics, with the primary determinant being how much you pronate, or how much your foot rolls inward when it is in contact with the ground. Pronation isn't inherently evil, as it's your foot's natural cushioning mechanism. However, overpronation, or excessive inward roll, can cause injury problems if left uncorrected. Many runners display some degree of overpronation, though the degree varies by runner. On the other side of the spectrum is supination, also called under-pronation, which is when the foot doesn't roll enough and is unable to adequately cushion itself, which can stress the foot. Actual supination is fairly uncommon, and only around 10% of runners supinate.

Running shoes fall into three main categories: neutral, stability, and motion control. Neutral shoes are named as such because they have little to no stability features, though they do have good midsole cushioning. Neutral shoes are sometimes just called "cushioned shoes," though this name is misleading, since all three types of shoes provide cushioning. They are best suited for neutral pronators, who pronate ideally and need no stability features built into the shoe to control their foot motion, and for supinators, whose feet do not pronate enough to properly cushion their footstrike and require cushioning without stability features. Stability shoes usually have some type of medial post to provide stability, as well as good midsole cushioning. They are best suited for low to moderate overpronators, who could use some support to keep their foot from rolling inward too soon. The majority of runners do best in a stability shoe. Motion control shoes offer the greatest stability features, with higher density midsoles, extra medial support, and maximum heel counter control, and are often built on straight lasts with wide outsoles. They are best suited for severe overpronators or heavier moderate pronators. Other types of shoes (lightweight trainers, racing flats, etc) exist, but for the purposes of this post, only training shoes will be discussed (and flats and lightweight trainers fall into other categories anyway, e.g. Brooks T6 is a neutral flat while the Brooks Racer ST is a stability flat, and the Asics Speedstar is a neutral performance trainer while the Asics DS Trainer is a stability performance trainer).