I’m concentrating on long distance run races at the moment. My first marathon (SF marathon) is next Sunday and I hope to do some ultra trail races in the fall after spending the past year or so running middle distance trail races, between 10-18 miles, for fun on a pretty regular basis. My weekly mileage is somewhere around 35-40 95% of which included serious climbing in the hills around here. I am not college runner fast but would like to run Boston someday and want to continue progressing and adding miles.
I’m wondering how diligent the guys and gals running 50mpw and up are about stretching and if you often run multiple times a day. B/c of some past injuries I am on the foam roller before and after most runs but aside from some basic quad stretches around the office during the day I have no real stretching regimen. Do others? How long do you spend daily? I know my legs are too tight but I have a hard time loosening them up on my own.
BTW to live in SF I work 60 hours a week and have 2 roomates but you’d have to drag me out of here.
note that studies have shown that flexibility in runners is inversely related to speed - IOW, the faster runners are less flexible than slower ones. Stretching is purely an injury-avoidance technique, and like everything else in running, is very individual. I need regular stretching of everything up the back - calf, hamstring, glutes - to avoid back pain and a recurring calf muscle tear. I didn’t stretch regularly at any time when running ultras and didn’t have any problems then - I suspect my problems are more age-related than anything else.
I usually run between 50 to 60 miles a week as well as cycling 150 to 175 miles and Ive been doing that for a long time. I stretch everyday right after running and sometimes after cycling. Its just a basic regieme that takes no more than 5:00. I am pretty injury free other than the occasional tight IT band I enjoy the stretches, they serve as a kind of transition from running to everyday life.
If you’re targeting 50mpw right now and training for distance races I’d stick with singles…I only switch to doubles when I hit 70-75 mpw. You won’t get a great deal of benefit running 3 in the am and 3 in the pm…plus you’ll spend more time getting ready, showering and doing the extra laundry created than you will running.
Doubles take a lot of time and I get lazy about my stretching when I crank up the miles. I know some old guys who have been running big miles for years and who never stretch…so I guess its another case of do what works best for you…I like the foam roller too…a massage is $60 an hour a roller costs $20 and lasts for 6 months. I do try to get a good hard sports massage every few months if I’ve been running big miles, I recommend the Sports Medicine INstitute at Stanford…they are the best in California, perhaps the world. I’ve bumped into quite a few elite athletes while being worked on down there.
You should check out the injury prevention links…lots of very useful information.
Distance running does not lend itself to flexibility…most marathon runners I know can’t touch their toes…big quads, weak hammies! Just keep working with the roller and try to stretch after your cooldown especially after the long runs.
Matt, although stretching is good, and will probably lead to fewer injuries over the years, very few of my friends (or I) stretch. We are only able to tie our shoes because we can bend our knees. Probably less than ideal, but in reality, we don’t stretch. Most of us enjoy several ultras a year and depending on the time of year are 50-80mpw. If you want to have a great ultra, think about Way Too Cool 50K in March. Good fun.
A great way to get into ultras are some of the trail marathons put on in Marin. They will give you a flavor for things. If you feel you could keep going after crossing the line, then you are ready to give it a whirl.
That’s how I’m planning on starting with Ultra’s. I may do the Big Sur trail marathon although I’m not exstatic about a 2 loop course and aiming for the Whiskeytown 50k. The Marin trail races are great. Good way to stay in shape through the off months and plenty of choices/distances. Always a good group of people and some great athletes. Angel Island 25k in August is a great run as well. Very casual and a lot of fun.
I have a yoga routine targeted at my problem (tight) areas, it’s only 5-10 minutes long and I try to do it after most of my longer runs. I am in the process of ramping up the mileage for a fall marathon, probably detroit and a winter Ultra, http://www.fwtc.org/huff/ should be a fun race.
I am purely a reactive stretcher. If something is sore or tight then I stretch. If I am churning out eight hours a week, week after week, with no issues then I just keep running.
I also don’t run speedwork anymore, so it is less of an issue. I did a recent duathlon and was interested to see if I would be really sore afterward and it wasn’t a problem. I averaged about 5:40 miles and I had not run any training miles at 5:40 for six weeks.
I agree that you should avoid twice a day if you can manage to come up with a larger block of time. And for the same reasons cited above.
I’ll run doubles say 45-60 then 20-30. i find that often my legs feel better in the afternoon than evening on my runs. i’m also about 5-10sec per mile faster in the evening.
There is ample research relating to stretching that it does not prevent injuries and that stretching and running fast are not correlated, as mentioned before.
cdw how was the Utah Dannon? I’m guessing you were 2nd OV? I didn’t make it b/c of a pulled back muscle. Are you going to Alphretta?