Restoration in Long Distance Running - Part 1

3. Restoration during the course of training

When you do an intensive workout, you need to allow for recoveries as these allow:

1. respiration to improve

2. residues and harmful products of metabolism to be removed

3. muscle tightness to decrease

In daily training you will get complaints from your body. The most frequent complaint is muscle soreness as your muscle tone increases in response to heavier training loads. Continued training on sore, tight muscles will definitely lead to injury.

Methods to remove tight muscle tone are:

1. Stretching exercises (see the four previous articles)

2. Swimming

3. Steam and dry air saunas

4. Warm baths

Post question: Which of these four methods do you regularly practice? If you don't, how can you integrate them into your lifestyle?

The stretching articles can be found at:

Part A: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/trai...

Part B: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/trai...

Part C: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/trai...

Part D: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/trai...

Exercise 3: Look at the training schedule in Exercise 1 again. If you had sore tight legs, where could you substitute a training day of running with a session of swimming? Where in the schedule could you do this on a regular weekly basis? See the table at the end of the article for the author's suggestion.

Focus Question: How seriously at risk is your health if you do not make sure your body recovers fully?

Heaviness in the legs, or wooden legs, also known as leaden legs, is a complaint you will undoubtedly feel at some point or other. This is caused by:

1. Poor local blood supply

2. Disturbances in circulation

The restorative solutions are:

1. Slow cross-country running i.e. on soft surfaces e.g. grass, forest trails

2. Warm temperature procedures

3. Massage

4. Curative mud baths

Heaviness in the legs can also result from a much more serious medical problem - varicose veins. Medical advice and attention is required, and taping or bandaging of the affected area of the leg is used on runner's legs which suffer from varicose veins.

Pain in the leg, particularly the Achilles tendon area and the back of the thigh, usually occur after significant increase of physical loads after high intensity training. The symptoms are palpitations, pain, and hardening is felt under the finger.

The solutions are:

1. Regular massage

2. Ultrasound

3. Eltrophoresis and diadynamic currents

4. Use of therapeutic ointments (Phenalbutazone, butadion)

5. Use of naftalana, mumie, and curative muds

Focus Question: What should you be checking your legs for frequently?

Pain in the lower extremities is related to injury in the blood vessels and from these blood leaks

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