Run-Down Forums

[vicki]

How does a 15 year old girl take time off her running?She runs everyday(2-3 miles).In her races she runs 2 1/2 miles in 22:00 on an adverage.She is getting very down on herself.Now this summer she is having pain at the side of her knee after she runs.I had her join a gym to ride the bike and to workout on the leg machines.But,the bike makes her knee pop.Should she stop the bike?And what time should she get when running in a meet.Not breaking records ,but just not being last.Thanks so much

[Dan]

2-3 mile runs put you right in the "rut zone," as I have come to think of it. Just enough to maintain fitness, but not enough to really improve on it. She might do well to try mixing that up a bit, maybe 2 miles one day, 4-5 miles the next, 3 the next, then a day off, then 4, etc.

I haven't found too many people that agree with me, but I've always seen biking as being much tougher on the knees than running. Especially so with exercise bikes, as they're very poorly designed with regards to ergonomics. Their seats are generally positioned much too low, so you should check that her leg is nearly straight at the bottom of the cycle. Otherwise, that's a lot of pressure being put on the knee and no chance to ever straighten out to relieve it.

For your other questions, please refer to my reply to your other post in the Distance Den (and please try to keep it to a single location for a question).

Dan

[Distance_Guru]

To improve her time she needs to run more. She should work her way from 2-3 miles a day to 4-5-6 miles a day.

It also sounds like she has a case of IT band tendonitis. Biking is a good way to take some of the pressure off the knee but like Dan said you need to make sure the seat is high enough or you'll actually be putting more stress on the knee than running. Also ice down the area both on the knee and above it along the outside of the leg after running. And remeber not to leave an ice pack on for more than 15 minutes.

Also, distance running is a patience oriented sport there are no overnight results. I would often go six weeks or more of very hardtraining without a tiny bit of improvement and then I would have a spurt where everything I ran seemed to be really easy and really fast. So be patient and improvement will come.
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Time is the fire in which we burn

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[Dan]

Please see:

http://run-down.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=804

Dan

[Anselm Murphy]

I can't believe how totally shameless Poserunner is!

[training2run]

Dan, I certainly agree with you that biking can be tougher on the knees than running.

This is especially true with exercise bikes where people tend to crank down on the resistance, and pedal relatively slowly, but with great force.

It's much easier on the knees (and gives a much better aerobic workout), if you ease up on the resistance, turn up the RPM and pedal for an extended period of time.

Also, if you raise the seat, so the pressing leg almost (but not completely) fully extends, it will be less damaging to the knees.

However, even with all these changes, Dan is still correct: biking is more likely to cause knee problems than correct running, or treadmill workouts. Mad Dog Mike www.training2run.com

[Dan]

Very true. Even with a properly adjusted seat height and overall bike position, the knees are still locked into a pretty limited range of motion, though.

Dan

[Hammer]

When I suffered through a bout with IT Band tendinitus my coach had me use an Aqua Jogger 3 times a week in my training. It still forces the athlete to bend at the knee but the lack of resistance helped me get through the injury, sort of. Later they gave me a cortosone shot to finish the season.