Call it boring,
pedantic, mind-numbingly sensible, it’s all the same to me.
But take care of
your core.
I don’t know how
many former runners I talk to who say they stopped running because of joints: knee pain, ankle stress,
hip injuries.
In the past ten
years, as readers of this blog might know, I’ve had my setbacks, most
significantly, a wicked knee injury and a massive hamstring tear. After the
hamstring tear, one doctor said I could forget about running again.
That was seven
years ago. And I continue to run at least three miles every other day.
The older you get
the more attention you should spend on stretching, yes. Outside of daily Achilles
tendon stretches and some basic calisthenics, I’m not that person. But what I have done that
seems to work is pay attention to core strength and, as important, running posture.
Be strong in your
core, and you will put less strain on your joints. Next time you see runners
look at their posture. Does their pace allow for their buttocks to vertically
align with their foot strikes rather than chest-forward? The latter posture
exposes knee joints to gravity and pavement-pounding stress in a way that the
former does not.
What’s more, a
strong core makes for lighter foot strikes, and less wear and tear on joints. I
also run with patella bands and in compression socks, which mitigates the
negative effects of pavement-pounding on joints.
So what do I do
for core? Not much really. Since 2011, 60 nightly pushups, and tai chi, which
is gentle way to build up core. Then when I run I move a lot slower than I used
to, and more vertical in stride so that the strain on joints, etc., is
minimized.
So far, so good.
Try it, and you might like it!
Next: Running for Your Life: Touches of Tennessee
