Doc On The Run Podcast

Kim Conley on the Olympics, Half-Marathon Championships and Rapid Recovery Strategies for Runners

Kim Conley: 2-time Olympic athlete and middle and long distance track star.

Part of what I find so inspiring about Kim is the way in which she has pulled it out and come back in the final meters and final seconds of races to secure the win. 

We're really fortunate to have Kim on the show today to share some of her strategies and tactics that have helped her stay fit, train hard and recover after all those hard workouts throughout her career.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking with Kim Conley, about the strategies she uses to recover quickly after hard training blocks, or when resuming training after a world-class event.

Ultra Injury Prevention with Running Stupid host Ken Michal

If you want to complete an ultramarathon, you will have to put in lots of training. One of the big keys to successfully training for an ultra-marathon is to log lots of miles without getting sick or injured. 

Ken Michal has stood on the starting line of almost every significant ultra, including Western States 100 and multiple rounds of the HURT 100. 

And when I asked him about what it takes to successfully train for these kind of ultras, he says, “You're going to hate me for saying this, but its risk and reward.”

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking with Coach Ken Michal, host of the Running Stupid Podcast about recovery, rehab and injury prevention when training for ultras.

Ultra-Recovery with Lucy Bartholomew

Lucy Bartholomew went from running with her dad at age 15 to finishing on the top of the podium at some biggest ultras around the globe, all while setting course records in the process. 

Not surprisingly, her travel, training and race schedule keeps her pretty busy so it has taken almost a year of trying to get Lucy on the show, but with some luck we are able to have her here today to talk about her strategies and tactics on staying healthy, and recovering effectively while training for ultra-marathons. 

No one can clock the times and distances Lucy does without riding the fine line between training and overtraining. Obviously she knows how to get the full benefit of her training sessions by effectively recovering. 

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking with Lucy Bartholomew about the strategies she uses to recover quickly after an Ultra before she resumes training for the next event.

 

 

 

 

3 Ways Runners Can Avoid the Coronacloud

When I was running yesterday, we were noticing a couple of things that may put people at risk. And so, I was thinking about three simple ways you can really decrease your risk of exposure and keep true social distance, which I believe should be more than six feet.

There's a couple of simple ways to think about this. The first thing is to stay away from people. And then, the second thing is that when you do encounter people to make sure you're far enough away from them. And so, I came up with three simple tips that may help you avoid what I call the “coronacloud,” which is being within that pocket of air that could be contaminated.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about the top 3 ways runners can avoid the “Coronacloud.”

Are you motivated enough to recover

The biggest difference in speed of recovery is motivation. Your motivation leads to the actions required to heal and recover as quickly as possible.

Healing is not a passive process. If you're just sitting around waiting for some specific timeline to make your injury go away, you're making a big mistake.

The only guarantee in the waiting-to-heal-plan is that you're guaranteed to lose all of your running fitness. But there is a better way. Just think of your recovery the same way you think of training.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about whether or not you are motivated enough to recover.

Stress reduction is critical during coronavirus lockdown downtime for runners

I listen to lots of podcasts and I recently have heard lots of other speakers in all genres talking about how important it is to stay healthy and avoid illness, and reduce your risks or contracting Covid-19.  

All of these people are right. Now, more than ever it is important to maximize your immune system. 

In thinking about that, I realized that all of these same strategies people are talking about to help you avoid a viral illness can also help you heal from training, prevent over training and maximize recovery after hard workouts.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about how stress reduction is critical during coronavirus lockdown downtime for runners.

Top 3 Coronavirus mistakes for runners

Right now all of us are inundated with rapidly changing circumstances and a wide variety of news stories about the coronavirus. With all of the uncertainty, none of us really knows what we are supposed to do.

As a doctor who focuses completely on helping injured runners get back to running, most of what I do Is recognize mistakes in training and the recovery process causing failure. 

But what I do know is that right now, all over social media, I am seeing examples of completely avoidable mistakes which could have serious consequences. 

Make no mistake, I think runners should keep running, even when they began to encounter an overtraining injury. But it's all about taking a sensible approach. It's about managing risk. In some activities are riskier than usual right now.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about the top 3 coronavirus mistakes for runners.

Coronavirus lockdown unless you are a runner

Yesterday I was looking at the latest news story about the coronavirus lockdown in Italy. Strict lockdown. 

Don't go out of your house. 

Government orders. 

And the representative image in the news story showed a street scene of beautiful Italian architecture in Florence Italy. 

There was only one person on the street. And that person was a runner, who was running.

So while we are afraid to go to the grocery store, or that someone might cough on us while we're getting gas, we all want to go out for run. Even under the threat of personal harm or imprisonment…we want to run.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about the coronavirus and how it has you on lockdown, unless you’re a runner.

How oxidative stress slows running injury recovery

I was on stage at the International Foot & Ankle Meeting in Lake Tahoe this weekend and was giving a presentation designed to help doctors understand why running isn’t the problem with running injuries....why they as doctors shouldn’t always tell runners to “stop running” as a way to decrease stress.

Running is only one form of stress. Running is biomechanical stress.

But one of the most helpful strategies in recovering runners is managing oxidative stress.

So, I gave a brief Biochemistry 101 explanation of what “oxidative stress” means, why it is so important and why recovering runners need ti think about it.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about how oxidative stress slows running injury recovery.

Should a runner take steroids for chronic tendinitis?

Any diagnosis ending in “-itis” means inflammation. If you have inflammation in the tendons, a short course of oral corticosteroids will help to shut off the inflammatory response and reduce the inflammation. 

It took me nine years to get my spot at the Ironman World Championships. And unfortunately I got pneumonia right before the race.

I had to take oral corticosteroids preceding and during Ironman Hawaii. Now to be clear, I did the race, but I did not run at all for two months after Ironman Hawaii. 

I wasn't resting. I wasn’t recovering. I was concerned that I would develop an Achilles tendon problems as a consequence of running immediately after having finished the course of oral corticosteroids.  

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we're talking about whether or not a runner should take steroids for chronic tendinitis.