I wrote an article last week called "Best ways to Avoid 5 Common Running Injuries".   I left out one major problem.  Sciatica or The Sciatic Nerve condition.

Sciatica is another one of those common running injuries that can become serious enough that it can stop a running career.  The good news it is usually treatable with rest and proper exercise and treatment.

Spine-health.com website has several videos and lots of information starting with the Sciatica Health Center.

I found the Videos on the condition very informative and inlightening.   The information from this site is by Stephen H. Hochschuler, MD:

• Sciatica Overview
• Sciatica Videos
• Sciatica Causes
• Sciatica Symptoms
• Sciatica Exercises
• Sciatica Treatment
• Sciatica Surgery

Other great information on Sciatica are:

• Mayo Clinic on Sciatica
• WebMD Pain Management and Sciatica
• MedicineNet.com

I hope you find this information useful and please feel free to give me your feedback.

No I’m not talking about drugs for you old farts that remember the 60’s.  I’m talking about  training for life, training for running or training for just about everything.  I’ll focus this blog on running and the marathon, however the concepts are sound for lots of life’s challenges.

My initial running career started in high school in Cross Country and Track, however a short baseball opportunity in college and the a stint in the military sidetracked me for a few years.  When I returned to running in 1980 I was over weight, smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day, out of shape, and starting the down slide from my prime.  So running was a god-send and got my life back on track.

My first objective was to actual study and learn about running.  Being a obsessive compulsive and very competitive I needed to find out how to be fast or at least as fast as possible.  Actually, fast enough to beat Pat Blozinski.  Pat was the guy that motivated me to get back into running as a way to stop smoking.  In any case, I read the usual suspects like Jim Fixx, Dr. Sheehan, Jeff Galloway and Hal Higdon.  But it was an article by a guy name Tom Osler that really influenced my running career and I credit for my lack of major injuries. 

Tom Osler is professor of mathematics at Rowan University and was among those who helped push and pull America toward running mania.  In 1967 he published an unassuming, but important little booklet that has worn remarkably well.  In December 1985, January 1986 Runners World reprinted the Osler’s booklets, which included notes on the philosophy of the system as well as a program for developing the base on which racing fitness is built.  Below are links to those articles

• The Conditioning of a Distance Runner RW – December 1985
• The Conditioning of a Distance Runner RW – January 1986

One of the comments that stuck with me was in relation to LSD (Long Slow Distance).  He suggested, assuming good conditioning,  that if you ran for 30 minutes at a comfortable pace and walked for 5 minutes to recover that you could exercise all day.  I was skeptical, so I gave it a try on my next 20 mile run.  Amazingly it seem to work.  I felt guilty because it didn’t hurt.  So I tried it a few more times.  It still didn’t hurt.  My next 30k I set PR.  Did this make sense?  Getting in better shape without training at race pace?  This can’t be.  Well over the years I’ve evolved my approach and in short it has evolved to LSD for the base sprinkled with a little Speed is the key.

LSD – My definition of LSD (Long Slow Distance) is running/jogging/walking for a prolong period of time within a physical comfort level.  No pushing.  This is more of a spiritual experience.  Getting in touch with yourself.  Time in the saddle so to speak.  This is setting and maintaining the base.  This should never stop.  This is the heart of your running career.  A prolong and successful running career or life style must be based on the spiritual aspects of it.  If this isn’t at the heart of it you are setting yourself up for lots of heart break and disenchantment when you get that little injury or illness that sets you back.  Embrace the sport through LSD and your career with your running spirit will always move forward as long as you can.

Speed – It doesn’t kill or even injure if managed appropriately.  The purpose of speed is to be faster.  And it is a critical part of taking strides ahead. 

Keep in mind that the time target is not the goal.  It is the stride and form that we want to master.  We are trying to learn to maintain a comfortable posture while running faster.    Since the whole objective is to run faster the target time is a good gauge for setting a tangible goal.

For myself I like to put speed work in my plan for 2 months at a time, twice a year.  Speed work renders fast improvement, but tends to loose its momentum after a period of time.  It is also a good idea to let your body recover from the added muscle stress.

I also establish my goal for speed work at the pace of my target mile pace.  So if i want to do 7:00 miles (4200 seconds) I would divide that by the repeats distance.  For instance, 440 repeat target would be at 1:45.  And this is a building process over the 2 months.  I would do speed work once a week before the rest day.    My typical cycle for the target mention above would be:

(WU – warm up, WD – warm down)

This plan can be adapted to fartleks, or intervals of any mix and match.  The important thing is to warm up, build up, warm down, and stretch when you are doing any type of speed work or stressing those muscles.  Don’t stress over not achieving your goal.  It is a target.  The time is not the important thing.  It is the stride and the form.  The times will come when they are ready.

So I hope you get something from this article. I find its philosophies appropriate in life as well.  We need to keep that base in place all the time.  That is those things that are spiritual for you, (Don’t get scared, I didn’t say religion) and practice those thing in your daily life, live your life in alignment with those values.  However, once in a while you may be faced with a project that requires you to pick it up a notch.  These are the things that will have significant impact on your life, career, relationships or whatever.  But be sure to not get to caught up in the heat of the moment.  Keep in touch with the LSD of your life at all cost. “Speed can kill if not managed”.