Rob's Running Blog

Rob:

You have very decent times for the ruptured disk problem. Interestingly enough, there is one thing we have in common. I have a problem in L4/L5 as well - spina bifida occulta - a big chunk of L4 on the right side is missing, and a little bit of L5 is missing as well. It is not as bad as a ruptured disk, but it certainly affects running economy and speed.

I am wondering if you experience the following problems:

- running slower than the competition of equal ability on the uphill or into a headwind

- oversized quads

- second half of the marathon still ends up being somewhat slower than the first even when you have a good race, do not feel like you are overexerting in the first half, and feel strong in the second

- after a marathon the primary area of complaint is stiffness in the lower back

Thanks Sasha.

I do have most of the problems you mentioned.

- Uphill I do run quite a bit slower than the competition. In several marathons I pass a pack of runners going downhill, and yell to them "You'll pass me on the uphill". Then I'll pass them on the downhill again later on.

-Headwinds really get to me. I was up the canyon early in the morning of the Utah Valley, felt the headwind and was glad I wasn't running it. Looked like you guys had it pretty bad when I was watching everyone come in with slower than normal times.

- I don't really have over-sized quads. I'm still little over-sized all over. Currently at 202 (still in the Clydesdale/Wt. classification). I figure I need to loose more weight and get down to at least 180 in order to break a 3 hour marathon. I've started cutting weight a little more so hopefully I'll be able to this fall.

- I have the same issue with the second half of the marathon being somewhat slower even though no pushing it on the first half.

- I always have a stiff lower back - especially after a run. Depending on how I run will determine if I will be in pain at the end. One of the things that really helps my back is forefoot running (almost a little too much). If I heal strike at all I will be hurting.

One interesting thing--after going to a chiropractor and having a full body x-ray, I found my left leg is 2 centimeters shorter than my right leg. That is why I keep hurting it-- especially if I pick up anything and twist. I try to do a bunch of back stretches every day to keep it as loose as possible.

Rob:

Thanks for the info. This goes along with my theory that a properly functional lower back is critical for good performance against resistance (headwind, uphill), and for maintaining the speed in the second half of the marathon.

My explanation of the above symptoms: when you run against resistance, the contribution of elastic energy of the spine becomes more important because you cannot use the quads anymore to compensate for the lack of it as they are working more to overcome the resistance. On the downhill, they do not have to work as hard, and can be recruited to pick up the spinal slack, which allows you to be competitive against the guys that drop you when running against resistance.

When you run the marathon, the spine gets gradually compressed as the race progresses. This is the case for everybody, but if a part of your lower spine is unhealthy in some way, the healthy part is overworked, and as a result the whole thing compresses faster, and you get to the point where the loss of spine elasticity begins to affect your running speed.

So with that in mind, dropping the extra weight is a particularly good idea as every extra pound has an pile-on domino effect on your spine and onward to the muscles. Additionally, it would be a good idea to strengthen the lower back muscles and the gluts so they could provide partial compensation for the failure of the spine in the area of shock absorption.

Interesting stuff...thanks. I sometimes joke that the reason I run is so I can enjoy my wife's great cooking. I am planning on shedding some more pounds. We'll see how it affects the running...so far I've dropped around 50 lbs.

Another interesting thing is that I don't really have the bone structure of most distance runners--my frame is a bit larger, 8.5 inch wrists (no fat there). In college, 25 years ago, I wrestled at 190 lbs.