Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Plantar Fascitis


One of the most common running-related injuries is Plantar Fascitis. It's also very slow healing, primarily because every step we take aggravates the source of the pain!

The plantar fascia are a long, thick band of tissue that attaches to the front and bottom of the heel, and extends the length of the foot to the bottom of the toes. Fascitis is inflammation of the Plantar tissue.

Too much running (or walking), running on hard surfaces, excessive body weight or a tight Achilles tendon are some of the reasons for Plantar Fascitis.

If you have extreme heel pain when you take your first steps when getting out of bed, you probably have it. The pain genrally eases through the day, and returns at night.

Pain relievers like Motrin, Advil, and Tylenol help ease the effects of Plantar Fascitis. Heel pads and well-cushioned shoes and sneakers also help. Cortisone can also relieve the pain.

Plantat Fascitis can take six months or more to heal. Stretching the achilles can help. My favorite is hanging the back of my feet off the edge of a step, holding low for 30 seconds, streching to my toes for 10 seconds or so, and back down. Since I have tight achilles (an aging thing, I'm sure), I make sure I do this stretch just about every day, but especially after running. Like many injuries, try to do the things to prevent getting Plantar Fascitis. It's much better than recovering from it!

Job Stress and Women's Heart Health


It has been long acknowledged that a stressful job, or the fear of losing a job, increased the risk of heart attacks in men. A recent study by the American Heart Association reports that the same effect is felt in women, who now comprise half of the workforce.

Entitled the "Women's Health Study," he research involved over 17,000 participants over a 10 year period. Women with demanding jobs and with little control of them were nearly twice as likely to have suffered a heart attack as those with less demanding jobs, and more control. The high-stress group had a 40 percent higher risk of overall heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes, or clogged arteries requiring surgery.

Women who were were worried about losing their job had higher blood pressure, cholesterol, and body weight. Stress contributes to heart issues by releasing "fight or flight" hormones, that brings about inflammation and raises blood pressure.

No surprsie, exercise was one of the remedies prescribed to lower risk factors, both for its physiological effects and its ability to clear the mind and improve one's mood.

The report also suggested limiting work you need to bring home, spending time with friends and family, and making sure there is some "me time" incorporated into every day.

There is still some inequity in the workplace, with women less likely to have positions of authority. Generally, the less authority and control of your situation, the more stress you have. The more stress you have, the more likely health problems will follow.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Turkey Trot 2010

Due to a busy Fall work schedule, and a hamstring injury suffered doing 400-meter repeats
at the track in August, I have not run a race since the Avalon "Run From The Sun" 5-K in mid-July.

I finally had a Saturday morning free, and competed in the 20th annual Somerset County
Park System's Turkey Trot 5-K at Colonial Park in Somerset November 13th.
It's rare when I pre-register for a 5-K, but I did this time when I heard the weather would be
unseasonably warm for late fall, which is the way I like it.

Sure enough, the day before the race, I could barely make it down the stairs due to a tight achilles on my right leg, the same one that suffered the hamstring pull in the summer (all probably related, I know!).

As is tradition, I didn't run the day preceeding the 5-k, but lifted weights and stretched the achilles between each set. Magically, it did start to loosen up!

The morning of the race, it still felt good, and my warm-up was fluid and easy. As I ran the Avalon race in 20:12, anything under 20 minutes would be considered a good race for me, right now.

This is a low-key gathering, and there are no splits given. I glanced at my watch at the mile point, and thought it read 6:27, slower than I would have liked. I felt strong, though, and started picking off runners, one-by-one.

I missed the two-mile marking, but felt mentally focused and was still passing people at a steady rate. My strategy was to stay fairly strong until the last turnaround on this figure-eight course, which was about a half-mile to the finish.

Picking it up more, and breathing heavily, I passed a middle-aged runner and felt I probably was in good position to win my 50-59 year age-group. There was a high-school runner just ahead of the middle-aged guy, and I picked it up to pass him as well, about 400 meters from the finish line.

About 100 yards from the finish, you turn left, and sprint up a small hill in the parking area. With way more spring in his legs, the high school runner did catch me, but I crossed the line in 19:53, good for first place in the 50-59 division, and 17th in an overall field of about 400. I won a 15-lb (frozen) turkey!

I felt encouraged with my effort, and it was a good way to come back from my minor injury, and finish the racing season for 2010. Now, I'll be mostly hitting the treadmill for speed work,
and preparing for the Rutgers Unity Half-Marathon in April. At least, my head is in the right place!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Benefits of tea

Tea - so soothing and indespensible when we have a cold. Energizing and calming, at the same time. Tea has certainly grown in popularity, with numerous flavors, decaffeinated varieties, and indisputrable health benefits. I still enjoy my two cups of coffee in the morning, and then switch to tea for my hot drink fix after that. After a meal, I always feel tea helps with my digestion.

You will often here discussion on the benefits of green tea versus black tea. Acutually, all tea comes from the same plant, with the different varieties dependent on the processing of it.

All varieties of teas have antioxidants in them. Catechin is the ingredient that studies show reduce the risk of diabetes and some forms of cancer.

Green tea contains the most Catechin, and is the best variety to lower LDL, or bad, cholesterol, and for preventing colon cancer. Most dietary experts feel that black tea is just as beneficial for you, overall.

Green tea is more popular in Asia, so studies there report good health benefits from green tea. Black tea is more prevelant in the United States and England, so medical reports from there tend to favor black tea.

Whatever your preference, keep tea as a key part of your diet and you won't go wrong.