Ready, Set, Go The Distance Injury Free!

 

Are you preparing for a marathon, half marathon, 10k or 5k? Let the experts at Duffy & Bracken help you get ready for your race with our Marathon Training Program. We have put together a dynamic team of therapists to help our patients prepare for their race as well as prevent injuries.

Here at Duffy & Bracken our therapists want to see you perform at your best, so they have arranged an incredible package to get you ready for your chosen race. Since every individual has special needs and are at different fitness levels, we give you the option of choosing three out of the four available sessions. You have the power to decide what sessions you would benefit the most from based on your areas of strength and weakness.

Marathon Package Session 1:  “The Rub Down”
This 50-minute massage will utilize both deep tissue and medical massage techniques to restore your optimal performance. Physical Therapist Johann Howard helps to reduce pain, facilitate increased range of motion and improve tissue quality.

Marathon Package Session 2: “Body Fuel”
This 20-minute session will include tips on performance eating, proper hydration as well as suggestions on the finest supplements such as; gels, chews and recovery drinks. You will receive nutritional advice from physical therapist and avid runner, C. Shante Cofield. Since Shante is always training for her next race, she knows where you’re coming from. She’ll provide support, motivation and recommendations on informational reading about running.

Marathon Package Session 3: “It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint”
This 30-minute session will start by assessing your current training program. It will include a gait analysis, running stride and lower extremity mechanics evaluation. For optimal running the session will include core training and lower extremity strength training. Internationally trained therapist, Renuka Pinto, has been working with professional athletes for over a decade, so she won’t have a problem whipping you into shape. She’s our foot expert, so she will also make shoe and socks recommendations based on your individual foot type and running style.

Marathon Package Session 4: “The Finish Line”
This 20-minute post-marathon session will evaluate you after the race. It will include both corrective exercises for common running injuries as well as preventative exercises to avoid future injuries. Our therapists will be here to patch you back up and get you into a treatment plan if needed.

For just $250 we help prepare you for your most successful race yet. Whether it’s your very first race or you’re a veteran, we can help you cross the finish line injury free.

Call the office to reserve your sessions today!

Kieffer Pearce
Director of PR & Marketing
212-402-5430

It's All In The Preparation!

On November 4, some 40,000+ runners and I will eagerly await the sound of the gun (read electronic beep) and begin what is arguably one of the world's most famous races. But that, in my opinion, is going to be the easy part. As a physical therapist I have treated numerous runners, and 9 times out of 10 it is the training, not the race itself that lands people on the treatment table. That in mind, when I received confirmation that I had gained entry to the 2012 ING NYC Marathon, my very first marathon, I made a vow to make full use of my physical therapy background and avoid becoming the next victim of the monster that is the dreaded 16-week-training-plan. Since beginning my training in July, I have run over 200 injury-free miles, and learned a lot about running and myself.

Here are the Top 5 Things I've Learned While Training for the Marathon:

Follow the 10% Rule

The 10% Rule implies that you should never increase your duration, frequency, or intensity by more than 10% per week. I've managed to avoid injury while training for the marathon, but I wasn't so lucky while training for a half marathon earlier this year. I increased my long run from 8 miles to 13 miles in the course of a week and wound up missing the next 3 weeks of training with ice on my knee. LESSON LEARNED!

Adopt the 20-Minute Rule

For anyone who's trained for a race you know how difficult it can be to determine if you should push through that annoying feeling at the top of your right knee or turn around and head home. At times like these I've found it helpful to adopt the 20-minute rule. "If you're not sure whether your body is telling you to take a day off or plow ahead, see how you feel after 20 minutes." Go out the door always! If {after 20 minutes} the pain is worse or the same, take a day off; if it's better and you feel nothing, then do the workout. Twenty minutes is long enough to shake off inertia that plagues all of us from time to time, but not so long that it will worsen an impending injury." - Coach and 2:13 marathoner, Brad Hudson.

Build in Rest Days

Simply stated, don't wait for your body to break down to take a day off. Build rest days into your training schedule and avoid an injury that could instead have you resting for weeks.

If It's Not Broken, Don't Fix It

When it comes to gait and the 'correct' running form, everyone has an opinion. While form and technique can be adjusted, worked on, and improved, it's not something you want to suddenly change 8 weeks out from the marathon, nor is it something that needs to be obsessed over if you're running well and injury-free. I could ramble on for days and days about foot strike, gait, and biomechanics- and would be more than happy to do so should any of you reading this have any questions - but the point is, if you're feeling good, keep doing what you're doing; and when in doubt, take shorter steps.

Don't Get (Too) Competitive

While I'm all about healthy competition, a big ego can lead to a big injury. Some people, myself included, find it helpful to use other runners as motivational aides while on those solo runs. However, there is definitely something to be said about starting off slow, running negative splits, and then picking up the pace once you get your legs under you. Try this at your next race and you'll find yourself passing all those hares that went out way too fast. Remember, you don't have to prove anything to anyone.

Stay tuned for my take on the second half of my marathon training, and if all goes according to plan, the marathon itself.

C. Shante Cofield, DPT, CSCS

I'm raising funds for Liberty Science Center in exchange for guaranteed entry into the marathon this year. Please visit my donation page and contribute to this great cause!

http://www.crowdrise.com/libertysciencecenter1/fundraiser/carmencofield

Avoid Injury by Steering Clear of the Terrible Toos!

It is that time of the year again... The time when runners begin training for the abundance of Fall marathons all over the United States. It has been said that approximately 1/3 of all individuals training for a marathon will never cross the finish line, or for that matter, even make it to the starting line. The reason? Injury, most likely due to over training. 

Every research paper and expert agrees that —"training errors"—are the number one cause of self-inflicted running injuries. Runner and Sports Podiatrist, Stephen Pribut D.P.M., warns runners to beware the "terrible toos"—doing too much, too soon, too fast. The body needs time to adapt from training changes and jumps in mileage or intensity. Muscles and joints need recovery time so they can recover and handle more training demands. If you rush that process, you could break down rather than build up. 

Most marathon programs will build up your running mileage 10% per week for an average 16-week program. Yet, there may be times when even a modest 10% increase proves too much. Biomechanist Reed Ferber Ph.D., an assistant professor in the faculty of Kinesiology and head of the Running Injury Clinic at the University of Calgary, found that most 16-week Canadian programs push the mileage too hard. Meanwhile, his clinic's nine-month marathon training schedule for first-timers increases mileage by just 3% per week. "We have a 97 percent success rate getting people through the entire program and to the marathon finish line," Ferber says. 

Keep these few tips in mind and be injury free come race day.

Increase your weekly and monthly running totals gradually. Use the 10% rule as a general guideline, but realize that it might be too aggressive for you—especially if you are injury-prone. A 3-5% increase might be more appropriate. And remember that mileage isn't the only issue. Experts point out that an overly aggressive approach to hill running, intervals, trail running—or, any change in your training habits—can produce problems. Keeping a detailed training log can help you gauge your personal training threshold. Record your weekly mileage and how you feel after your runs. Look for patterns and listen to your body!  More is less when training for your first marathon.  

Greg Minnis, DPT