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Posts Tagged ‘running’

A Breakthrough in Fitness and Mentoring-Breakthrough’s Running Program for East Garfield Park Youth

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Nature and Stress, Stress Management, tagged , , , , , , on September 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Breakthrough Runners

The world is full of problems and that can be stressful. But feeling like I am doing my part to be part of the solution, versus part of the problem, makes me  feel a lot better and less stressed. I am always happy to hear a new story about people being active in volunteerism and fitness as well. Yesterday, I had a wonderful, heartwarming talk with Melissa Hoovy, Senior VP of Marketing Services from Legacy Marketing Partners, about a fantastic program she’s been involved with for the past two years:  Breakthrough Ministries Running Club for teenage boys and girls in the East Garfield Park area. And Melissa said they are looking for a few more good men and women to be mentors for the kids.

Melissa started her work with the running club last year when it was only offered for girls. But the program was so successful that it’s been expanded this year. According to Melissa, “Developments from last year include the addition of a boy’s group and adult mentors and more children overall participating, we have about 40 kids running now from last years 22.  It is fast becoming a valued program both for the adult coaches/mentors as well as the children getting to develop a love a running as well as new relationships with caring adults.”

The Breakthrough running club focuses on providing an opportunity for boys and girls to partner with individual coaches and train for at least two 5k races in Summer/Fall of 2010. Every student and mentor will meet together for a group run once a week on Saturdays (Girls =8:15am, Boys=10:30am) where there will be a brief group discussion time, hitting specific issues such as physical health, self-confidence, and emotional support, followed by a group run, and finishing with a cool down session where a healthy snack will be served.  There will also be a mid-week run held at Westinghouse H.S on Thursday evenings at 6pm.

The Runners: The young men and women who are participating in this program are from East Garfield Park which is one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in Chicago with the unemployment rate at three times the city average and the drug crime ranking in the top %10 of Chicago’s seventy seven community areas (CPD CLEAR DATA 2007).

The Goal: The goal for this program is for our young people to expand their adult network through their individual coach/mentor, develop the knowledge and ability to live a healthy lifestyle through running, and to build self-confidence by accomplishing their commitment of finishing a 5k race.

The Miles: The students in the program will consistently be exposed to different areas of the city outside of their neighborhood through our group runs which will be held in Lincoln Park, the Lake Front, Humboldt Park and other city locations.  Training runs start with a very easy run/walk sequence and progress to runs about 3 miles in length at the end of the program and just prior to race day.

The Training: The training run for the Summer/Fall program began on August 14th and  continues through  Lawndale 5K run on Sept 18th (Both Boys and Girls Clubs will run Lawndale) and finish with the boys running the Hot Chocolate 5k on November 6th and the Girls running the Girls on the Run 5k on November 13th.

The Need: In order to give each student the maximum opportunity to improve their health and fitness we desire to provide them with adult partners, running shoes and athletic wear that they need.

How You Can Participate

Be a Running Partner —Being a running partner involves the relationship that will make this program a success!  Every running partner will be paired with a specific group of girls or boys for the season.  As the student’s partner it is your job to stick with your girl or boy during the group runs and become the positive role model and encourager that he or she needs.  The running partner will also contact the student at least once a week using the phone or text messages to make sure you both are sticking to your plan.

Be a Snack Coordinator – Since one of our goals is to teach the young people healthy lifestyles, this position is very important!  As the partners finish the group run, we will gather together and eat a healthy snack and drink as we debrief about the run and discussion.  The snack coordinator will be responsible for providing and distributing the food and drink for this post run-activity, we can provide cups, jugs, plates, napkins, and a table if necessary and communicated prior.

Donate Running Clothing and Gear– Breakthrough is doing a clothing drive for running  clothing and would take donations of any size, any gender and any season of; running shorts, running tops (dri fit if possible) socks, sport bras, outer jackets, gloves etc.  pretty much anything but shoes.  Anyone interested can contact Rusty Funk at Breakthrough rfunk@breakthrough.org to find out how you can help out.

Running Kids Need Running Shoes!

Monetary donations– Anyone can donate to Breakthrough via the website and just specify youth and family services when you make a donation online.  Working Well Massage donated 35 matching Breakthrough fleece headbands to Breakthrough’s Running Club for the youngsters this Fall season (a $200 value)! Feel free to match our donation or any amount you can spare!

Breakthrough Urban Ministries-Joshua Center

3330 W. Carroll, Chicago , IL 60624 (Just West of Kedzie)

ph: 773.722.0179
fax: 773.722.0280

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Runners, Save Your Joints!

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, tagged , , , , on July 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Knee Joint Xray. Image from rbatina's photostream on Flickr

Summer is here and many of my clients are preparing for the Half Marathon September 12, 2010 and the Chicago Marathon, October 10, 2010. Training is a good time to think about proper joint care. Recent research indicates that running can help maintain the health of your joints by providing your body with proper blood flow, oxygen and stimulation of healthy bone and connective tissue. However, over the years, many runners sustain injuries that can lead to arthritis. And if a runner has poor form or a gait imbalance (runs on a pronated foot, for example) this can also lead to uneven wear and tear on joints.

Tips for Runners to Help Avoid Excessive Joint Wear

• Limit your running to soft surfaces like grass, cinder and sand. Running on concrete and asphalt is a great way to wear down your joints. The pounding can help accelerate the degenerative process. It always amazes me that Marathons are run on concrete and asphalt.  Sure running is great cardiovascular workout and many people love to run. But running pounds your joints much like the ocean wears away rock by pounding over and over as waves hit the shoreline.

• Cross train. Fitness experts don’t tell you to cross train simply to sell new Balance Cross Trainers. Cross training gives your body the chance to work muscles differently and wear your body in different areas. For example, if you run and swim, running pounds on your hip, ankle and knee joints (and yes it can also tighten your low back). But running does little for your upper body. Swimming, on the other hand, allows you to get great cardio, work your upper body and core muscles differently and take some of the strain off your joints. BY alternating between the two, you get better recovery from one exercise and less wear on your joints A the same time, if you swim all the time, you may be more prone to rotator cuff and shoulder injuries. So alternating between the two (and throwing in some bicycling) can help extend the life of your joints.

* Wear proper footwear! Wear Proper Footwear! I am going to say it one more time: Wear Proper footwear. If your shoes are old or they give you blisters or your knees hurt after you run in a new pair of shoes, go get fitted for a better pair of new shoes. You should not have to “break in” a pair of shoes. They should fit properly and be comfortable from day 1.

• Do NOT run when you are injured. If you feel a sharp pain in your knee, ankle, hip or muscle when you run, stop and rest.  And get it checked out by your doctor to avoid further injury or complications.

See Running Times Magazine for joint care tips for runners here.

Check out the book “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook”, here for tips on self-treatment of trigger points that cause pain in joints.

MSN has a great article here on running and your joints.

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Are We Born to Run…Barefoot?

Posted in Fitness, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Licensed Massage Therapist, ACSM Personal Trainer, Certified Wellness Coach, Owner, Working Well Massage

Looking for a gift idea for someone with plantar fasciitis? Or just want to give a runner a gift that will help them avoid it?  Look to the Vibram running shoe.

Vibram shoe

Read  John Biggs post about Vibram shoes at CrunchGear.com and learn all about his experience with the shoes. Then run to the nearest running store to get your own..and a pair for the runner in your life!

And, no, Working Well Resources and Working Well Massage are not affiliated with Vibram, John Biggs nor do we get any free gear for our post. (Would you trust us if we did?) We’re just happy to pass on the latest info to you, our loyal readers!

Review: Vibram Five Fingers Classic

by John Biggs

I swore I’d never wear them. We called them the Five Fingers of Suck a few years ago and I was sure they were crazy. Friends, I’m here to tell you I was wrong. And I’m sorry.

Here’s my story: I ran a marathon a few years ago. I got plantar fasciitis and couldn’t run after the marathon. I worked through that inflammation but by the time I was ready to run again I had gained thirty pounds. Wham. Shin-splints. So I was a fat former runner with leg problems. The prognosis wasn’t good.

So I tried a few things – the elliptical, weight training, losing some freaking weight – but the thing that saved me were these shoes.

Photo Gallery by Picturesurf

First, a caveat. I’m not a doctor, I’m an amateur runner and a bad one at that. Before you use these shoes, talk to a doctor. I can attest to what they did for me but I have no idea what they will do for you.

We are born to run. Heck, there’s even a book about it. Our first weapon, before fire and spears, was running. You see, animals like gazelles can run very fast for a short amount of time. They have great sprint speeds but they get tired easily. So we, as a pack predator, would get into formation and literally run animals to death. Then we’d eat them. We are good at running.

But we’re good at running barefoot. We’re not good at running in marshmallow-based shoes with padding, support, and protection. In fact, we get injured because of these shoes. There is some data that shows, in fact, that the more expensive the running shoe the worse it is for your feet and legs. I knew something was wrong when my feet would fall asleep while I was running. Something was up.

I don’t want to get into a religious argument – this is like arguing for veganism or onanism and you eventually fall into the hippie trap of equating something to “freedom” – but it makes sense. I bought the best shoes I could find for the marathon. And the shows – and the marathon – beat me down.

So I tried the Nike Free, a thinner soled shoe with separate compartments on the bottom for increased mobility. This got rid of most of my foot pain but I still had ankle pain. I ran a little in regular shoes and then read Born to Run and decided to go naked.

The thinking is this: we can run without injuries barefoot. It’s our natural mode of transportation and by wearing shoes we are weakening our bodies.

However, running barefoot in Brooklyn is a bad idea. So I ordered the Five Fingers Classic for about $75 – I bought 44 for my size 11.5 foot and they fit very well – and waited. I ran. My knees were screaming. My ankles hurt. Then, a few minutes later, all the pain was gone. I was running normally and, thanks to the light weight and comfort I could run longer than I ever could. I could run without stopping, which was a big change for me. I could run for quite a while. The only limitations were the blisters I got during the first few runs. Even those went away.

So I’m a Five Fingers convert. The shoes give your ankles a workout rather than a coddling. I felt my ankles get stronger and my feet get more resilient. I felt some of the pounds drop. I felt good.

They say we need lots of arch support but for most of our biological history we didn’t even know what an arch was let alone how to support it. While these shoes look ridiculous I’m happy to report that they work and they’re now my go-to running shoes.

Link to John Biggs  entire article here.

Where Do I Get Those Funny Looking Toe Sock Looking Shoes?

Order your pair of Vibrams shoes from their website here.

Order from Hanigs in Chicago here.

Or stop by Running Away a running store in Wicker Park located at 1753 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60647. Phone: (773) 395 – 2929. Their website here.

Info on Running Barefoot (sans Vibrams) at runningbarefoot.org here.

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