If you’d like to run like a gazelle, all you need is a whopping great big lion to chase you down the road. If you want motivation like that, then just start out at the front line of a big city race of tens of thousand runners. The gun goes off and every gazelle in the front line runs for their life as the herd chases them down. One stumble and fall and the next thing they will feel is the trampling of tens of thousands of dollars worth of expensive running shoes that triumph by running straight over their humiliated heads. Running like a gazelle involves running with that sort of fear.
Yesterday was MRI day for me. I was booked in for a scan on an annoying and persistent lump in my lower leg. Since this is the next day now, and I often think of important things to after they have stopped being important, I decided to do a brief net search to see what an MRI is all about.
Firstly, I guessed wrong when I assumed that MRI stands for “Muscle Right Inside” (which is where the problem with my leg is). I also wasn’t even close when I guessed “Muscle research investigation” and “My Rescue from Injury”.
With my running shoes tied, shorts, and a light long-sleeve shirt, I step out into the crisp, cool air of the new morning light and head out for my morning jog. I head down the street and through other neighborhoods as the first early cars pass by. I run almost everyday- usually five to six days a week.
Are you feeling a little stale about running at the moment? Is it hard to remember what is so exciting about pushing yourself physically? This happens to all of us at some time. Sometimes it is because of an end of season back-off in training, or maybe because it is because of overtraining or an injury. Whatever the cause, at some stage in your running, it is inevitable that you will find a temporary drop in your normal motivation.
There are any number of ways to re-kindle your motivation, but the easiest I can think of is to return to one of the basic benefits of running.
Do you want to run a marathon for the first time? A good training schedule is important to avoid healthy risks and injuries. The distance of this run is 42,195 km or 26 miles 385 yards. You will understand the need of a good preparation to start this athletics event. Nobody will do the same like the Greek soldier Pheidippides who ran the entire distance without stopping from Marathon to Athens and died by his arrival.
How to train for a marathon depends of the current condition of the runner. Some important questions are:
In any race longer than the half-marathon, much of the body’s natural mineral salts are lost due to sweating. If not properly replaced, their lack can bring on an increased risk of dehydration, cramp and slow peak performance and recovery time. The main minerals to watch are sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium:
Millions of runners take to the streets, tracks and trails everyday. People run for health, for fitness, for stress relief and for fun. There are casual joggers, the trail runners, sprinters, marathon runners and elite competitors. Despite these differences, all runners are susceptible to foot problems. Common foot and ankle conditions in runners include blisters, foot fungus, ankle sprains, stress fractures, tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. Fortunately, most of these conditions can be prevented and many are easily treated. When foot and ankle conditions are ignored they can become difficult to treat and sometimes resistant to therapy.
Heel pain
Running is one of the most popular ways to stay in shape and feel great. One of the main reasons why it is so popular is because it is something that anyone can do without big investment. When compared to aerobics classes or expensive work-out equipment, running is the cheapest and best way to stay in shape.
However, running does require certain accessories to ensure that your running experience is a fulfilling one. For those who are serious about incorporating running into their health regiment, neglecting your running gear can result in discomfort and even injuries while running. By ensuring you have all the right gear, you can be sure of a complete and worry-free running experience.
While I was playing high school basketball a team came out of nowhere in California to catch college basketball by storm. Loyola Marymount University was an amazing team to watch. I grew up in Utah and would stay up as late at night just to watch them play on television. It was a show. The thing that made them most unique was their desire to score lots of points and to put lots of shots up. They wanted to average a shot every 6 seconds. They had great players like the late Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble and a baseball player named Terrell Lowery. They would full-court press, run as fast as possible and score lots of points. They had a shooting guard named Jeff Frier and he was my idol. He was my idol because he was able to shoot whenever and wherever he wanted to. It was crazy to watch. They were coached by Paul Westhead who used to coach the Los Angeles Lakers when Magic Johnson was playing. Westhead was interviewed on ESPN and gave his secret to how his team could play this way. It was no surprise that the answer was conditioning. How he conditioned them was what set them apart from all the other Division 1 college basketball teams.
Running is a fun sport - really. Each day, people all over the world partake in the sport. Some run on the track. Others run in their neighborhood. People run in trails and even on the treadmill. No matter where you run or how often you do it, chances are you are either at risk for injury or you have at some point dealt with an injury.
Injuries can be frustrating. For most people, this means that some time needs to be spent away from the sport. For someone who loves it, this is not an easy task. But it is important to note that the easiest and quickest way to heal a running injury is to stop running.