Obsessed Runner Blog
Stretching - Warm Up, Cool Down
Sweat First!
Ideally you should stretch after you break a sweat. There is risk of injury when stretching cold muscles. Running about a half mile very slowly then stopping to stretch is ideal. During winter this is not practical so if you stretch before you run, be gentle. After the run, schedule 2 to 5 minutes to stretch.
Dont run to the Doctor
As a coach, this is a classic question and my response. We will all have some aches and pains along the way, the question of going to a doctor or just how to deal with the set back will be a common occurrence.
"Have a question for you. The past few days I've noticed clicking in my knee - mostly when I'm going up stairs. It's not really painful, other than the aches I have all over just from this sudden running that my body isn't used to - that's to be expected. Yesterday there seemed to be some swelling behind my knee area (the point on the back of the leg where it bends) so I put ice on it for a while. Today, it doesn't hurt but its still clicking as I walk up stairs. I realize you are not a doctor, but do you think I should not run again unless I see a doctor first? I hate to miss my miles already. "
My response:
No need to run to a doctor, I'll save you a trip!
Running Boom!
Running, as a sport is Booming, Womens running is exploding.
You run like a girlGood for you. A fit woman is a powerful woman. Women run the world. These are just a few of the words adorning womens running shoe boxes these days. These slogans are an attempt to grab a share of the growth in womens running taking place today.
As a running shoe retailer, I can attest to the boom in womens running. When we opened Running Fit in 1984, the sale of womens shoes and apparel accounted for about 30% of our business. In 2000 womens sales were around 50% and we expect that to close in on the 55% mark this year. Women currently make up 75% of our beginning running and marathon training classes.
Running has been doing well in general. Growth of the sport was about 1% per year since 1985 1995 and has been in the neighborhood of 3% per year since. The numbers on the mens side are up but the growth has been slower, around 1% each year. Compared to many flat sports such as tennis, or declining sports such as In-line skating, running is alive and well.