Hamstring Woes

I've been getting some questions from folks lately about nagging hamstring problems now that they've started adding hills or speedwork into their training after a few months of easy running. Their hamstrings feel tight or achy while running, or sore the next morning after a harder run, etc. Nothing bad enough to feel like it's an injury (yet), but... what the heck?

Usually, these annoying hamstring aches are the result of weak glutes and/or tight hip flexors.

Here's how it works in general:

Muscles can't push, they can only pull. This means that for every muscle that does something (agonist), there's another muscle that does the opposite (antagonist). We are wired neurologically such that when the agonists are causing a joint to move, the antagonists are inhibited (known as reciprocal inhibition). Yes, this is an oversimplification, but hopefully you get the idea.

Here's how tight hip flexors can cause weak glutes and strained hamstrings:

Muscles in front of the hip that help to raise the leg forward (hip flexors) become tight. This is especially common in people who sit alot, such as those who have jobs where they are required to sit at a desk or in meetings all day. Tightness in the hip flexors tends to inhibit the hip extensors (glutes), which in turn puts additional strain on the hamstrings (hamstrings flex the knee as well as assist the glutes in extending the hip). Basically, this means that the hamstrings are having to do the glute's job in addition to their own. Even if this doesn't cause an injury, it can affect running performance by decreasing stride length, which in turn results in slower running at a given stride rate.

So what to do about it? Try stretching hip flexors, followed by some bridging exercises to actively recruit the glutes.

If double leg bridges are too easy, try single leg. If single leg bridges cause the hamstrings to cramp or the inactive hip to drop, the glute is still too weak.

If single leg bridges are too easy, try an active lock bridge, where you actively engage the hip flexors of one leg to hold a small ball or towel against your abdomen while bridging with the other leg:

Keep practicing until you can do the active lock bridge without hamstring cramping. By improving your glute strength, you will probably notice that your hamstring aches disappear, your flexibility improves, your stridge length increases, and you ultimately have faster runs at the same stride rate as a result!

Goal Setting

After spending a great deal of time the last couple of weeks helping my clients with their goals for the upcoming year, I realized: Many folks have a general idea of what they want to accomplish when it comes to setting goals, but they don't go far enough with the planning to actually improve their chances of achieving them.

Most of my clients are familiar with the SMART acronym:

S = Specific. Make your long and short term goals as specific as possible.
M = Measureable. Each goal must have a measureable way of tracking success.
A = Action oriented. What action will you take to achieve your goal?
R = Realistic.
T = Time. Give each goal an appropriate time frame.

This is a great start and they do pretty well up to this point, but it doesn't map out the specific details of how to actually accomplish the task. For example, one plans to run Boston Marathon this year in a sub 3 hour time, and they qualified for Boston by running Twin Cities in 3:02. It's specific, measureable, realistic, and they know the time frame that they have to get ready for the Boston Marathon. The action they plan to take to achieve this goal is to do lots of running. Unfortunately, this is where most people stop when it comes to planning their goals.

Here are a few tips to improve your success rate:

*Know exactly what it is that you are trying to accomplish.

*Know exactly where you are starting from. This comes in the form of some type of assessment that allows you to measure your current strengths and weaknesses.

*Once you know where you are starting from and where you want to go, you'll be able to plan specific steps to get from "point A" to "point B".

*Break larger goals down into smaller and smaller goals, until it becomes a daily "to do" list. Have a specific reason for doing each and every thing on your daily training list. Why are you running this distance at this intensity on this day? This is a biggie!

*Focus on the positive (what you should do rather than shouldn't do).

*Be precise: put in dates, times, distances, goal pace, etc.

*Set priorities: some races will be more important than others, some may serve as supported training runs. Some things in life will be more important than running races.

*Set performance rather than outcome goals. Focus on things that you can control (your performance), and don't worry about things you cannot control (what the other runners are doing).

*Do not set your goals too low, which is just as important as not setting your goals too high. Make your goals challenging, but achievable.

*Be flexible. Have a "Plan B" in your daily training. You may need to adjust your training schedule based on weather, illness, injury, job/family time demands, etc.

*Learn from your experiences, including when you fail to meet a goal. What do you need to improve upon so that you can move closer to meeting this goal next time? Was the goal realistic to begin with? Was the goal irrelevant and you weren't really motivated to pursue it?

*Keep in mind that goals will change over time. If a goal no longer holds an attraction to you, let it go and focus your energy on something that is important to you.

I am in the process of beginning my goal setting for 2008. Currently, my key races are the Superior 25K in May and the Moose Mountain Marathon in September. I plan on running as many of the MN Trail Series races as possible, but the schedule has not been finalized yet. I sent off my registration for the Trail Mix 25K, which will most likely be my first race this year (unless there's an early MN Trail Series race that I don't know about). I've got my daily training plan scheduled out to 5/18/2008, which includes strength training and running based on my current strengths and weaknesses. I have a specific reason for each workout and exercise that I do, whether it's a strength training exercise, running a certain distance, pace, terrain, target heart rate, etc. My daily plans will most likely change somewhat, depending on what my results are as my training progresses. Since I'm new to trail running, I don't really have enough experience to know what realistic times will be for each distance (trails are harder for me to predict than road races since each trail is so different). Based on my Afton result last summer, I hope to beat 3 hours at Trail Mix.

Well, it's a start...

Getting Started at Afton

So how did I get started trail running? Hmmmmmmmmmm........

Once upon a time, I was nationally ranked in orienteering. This involves running through woods, swamps, marshes, tall grasses, up or down ravines, etc with virtually no trails or footpaths at all. Hard work. Then I got more involved with road running - smooooooooooth pavement the entire way. It only seems logical that I would go from one extreme to the other and end up somewhere in the middle: on trails. As they say, all things in moderation, including moderation. At least, that's what I say ;)

Anyhoo, on a cool April day, I decided to sign up for the Afton Trail 25K to be held on July 7, 2007. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I had access to the course map in addition to topo maps of Afton State Park from MNOC, so I had a chance to check out the terrain that we would be running on. I already knew about the Afton hills, so that was no biggy. In fact, it was a relief to be on trails since my last orienteering adventure in that park landed me in the hospital with a punctured artery in my leg (doncha just love hidden rusty old barbed wire)? That's a story for a different day.

As it turns out, July 7 was the hottest day of the summer - a heat index of 100. Since I really hadn't trained properly, my goal was to stay out of the ambulance. The race director explained The Rule (absolutely no whining) at the start, and we were off into the woods. I already knew what to expect on the course, so I actually felf pretty relaxed. Two things that really struck me about this race: the other runners were all very friendly and supportive, and the aid stations were like running up to a Thanksgiving feast. In spite of carrying my own electrolyte drink, pigging out at the aid stations, eating salty stuff, I did have some problems with my legs cramping the last 2+ miles. It was just too hot and humid to replace the fluids lost from running. I always weigh myself before and after long runs (especially in hot/humid conditions), and in spite of drinking 20 oz of my own sport drink, 4-6 oz of Heed at each of the 5 aid stations, another 20 oz of recovery drink after the race, eating a cheeseburger, chocolate chip cookies, pretzels, potatoes with salt, strawberries, and PBJ sandwiches, I weighed in 2 pounds lighter at the end compared to the start. But I achieved my goal: I finished and didn't end up in the ambulance. Yep, it was hot (but I'm not whining Scott), and I was hooked!



Trainer Tip: weigh yourself (preferrably undressed) before and after long runs or runs in hot/humid conditions. For races I even write my prerace weight on the back of my bib for emergency medical purposes. If you are drinking the right amount of fluids, your weight should stay about the same. One pound = 16 oz fluid.