strength training for uneven terrain

DrLith said:

I think my biggest problem (other than homelife stresses that put me in a
foul mood with no tolerance for pain and discomfort) was that I haven't been
able to train much on that kind of microterrain--lots of roots and rocks,
with squishy stuff in-between. It's less like running hills and more like
running steps--jagged, uneven steps. I'm wondering if there's any basic
strength-training exercises that would help in this department (esp. erector
spinae and gluts both large and small). Would stair climbing/stair running
help?

I'm assuming these are roots/rocks forming steps on hills, rather than
just obstacles on relatively level terrain. I think uphill stair
running might help as would step ups, lunges to emphasize the butt,
stability ball (reverse bridge and another that I can't find name of at
the moment, but similar), single-leg balance squats, and another (get
down on all 4s, extend one leg and opposite arm, tighten butt, hold,
return to start, repeat n times, then switch legs). Some of these might
be ham and butt combined, since my PT had identified muscle imbalances
there. I also use one where start in position of push up, but hold it
for 60 sec, rather than lowering/raising body.

With walking lunges, we change the size of the step to emphasize
different muscles. With standing ones, I go forward, sideways, or
diagonally back (turn torso) to work all angles. Single-leg squats are
also done reaching one leg forward, backward, sidways.

Quoted message said:

One of those wobbly balance disks?

These will help with proprioception and strengthening small muscles,
like ones used in ankles for balancing, but there's also a ton of
exercises where you don't need any equipment. The drills my PT gave me
about 1.5 yr ago included proprioception exercises. With the lunges and
balance squats above, close your eyes.

Could I safely do some kind of

Quoted message said:

stair or strength routine 3x a week on top of 5-6 days of running?

Depends on how much you can handle. I'm guessing if you do much strength
training, you *might* need to reduce some of the running. I've found
some of my problems stemmed from not getting the balance right between
strength training and running. Or do a recovery run the day after a
strength workout. Remember that you don't improve unless you recover and
get body a chance to adapt.

Quoted message said:

In the best of all possible worlds, I'd just be able to run on gnarly trails
every day. I will probably replace my Tues night track workout with gnarly
hill repeats. The good news is that fab new BF and I are spending a week
camping in West Virginia next month--hours and hours of trails every
morning, hours and hours of rubdowns every night. Bliss out.

Sounds like almost heaven!

Even hilly hiking, esp. with a pack, will help those week areas. At
least that's been my experience.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people"
-Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

On 2004-07-18, DrLith <[email hidden]> wrote:

[snip]

I'd go with weekly hill repeats on trails, and if you can, do your long runs
on trails too.

I think the key factors are local muscular endurance, and running economy
over challenging surfaces. Specificity is key for both of these goals.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

DrLith wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I did my long run today on a rolling wooded trail that I suspect is similar
in terrain (though slightly flatter in overall profile) to the trail
half-marathon I'm doing in September. I'd been all my runs for the past few
weeks on either paved, or more even-surfaced natural, trails (of 2:00-2:15
hrs duration). This particular trail is about 5.5 miles, and I planned on 2
loops in about 2:30. I hit the first loop in 1:15, feeling mostly great! My
heart-rate was great, my breathing was steady and even, and I felt I'd be
good for another circuit, but not long after that I realized that my "core"
muscles were getting to the point of being really trashed. So, I altered my
route so I could fart around and walk a lot and wound up putting in about
2:15 of time-on-legs, walking a good 40 minutes out of the last hour and
still having a lot of achiness in lower back and butt (walking or running).

If your core is getting tired after 75 mins, you're going too hard. For
long runs back it off, especially at the beginning. You can insert short
walking breaks to keep the effort steady throughout. Also don't try to run
hills too hard in your long runs. If you have a heart rate monitor, watch
that you HR doesn't go too high on the hills, and if it does walk until it
drops. The most important thing is long endurance, not power in your long
runs.

Quoted message said:

I think my biggest problem (other than homelife stresses that put me in a
foul mood with no tolerance for pain and discomfort) was that I haven't

been

Quoted message said:

able to train much on that kind of microterrain--lots of roots and rocks,
with squishy stuff in-between. It's less like running hills and more like
running steps--jagged, uneven steps. I'm wondering if there's any basic
strength-training exercises that would help in this department (esp.

erector

Quoted message said:

spinae and gluts both large and small). Would stair climbing/stair running
help? One of those wobbly balance disks? Could I safely do some kind of
stair or strength routine 3x a week on top of 5-6 days of running?

Quoted message said:

In the best of all possible worlds, I'd just be able to run on gnarly

trails

Quoted message said:

every day. I will probably replace my Tues night track workout with gnarly
hill repeats. The good news is that fab new BF and I are spending a week
camping in West Virginia next month--hours and hours of trails every
morning, hours and hours of rubdowns every night. Bliss out.

No, you don't want to run on trails everyday. You need to ease into it.
Once a week is fine at first, and you can start by doing 1/2 your long run
on trails. I usually do 1/2 my long run on nasty singletrack, and 1/2 on
somewhat rocky jeep trails. After a while you can do one other run a week
on trails, and power up the hills on the shorter run; this will give you
strength. During the long run go easy on the hills. You only want to run
hills (for power) once a week. When in WV, at least go easy every other
day, and think about taking every 3rd day off. When adjusting to new
terrain, your support muscles and tendons will get overstressed and cause
injury if you're not careful.

- Tony

Quoted message said:

(FYI: a google search for piriformis offers a paid link to a site entitled
"Get Rid Of The Pain In Your Butt NOW!" Mysteriously, the site contains not
a word about 2-week residential summer camps for obnoxious 9-yo boys, which
is precisely the thing I need to get rid of the biggest pain in my butt
these days.)