Sometimes it feels like “runner” is synonymous with “injury”. I mean, how often do you open up a blog post to read and find out that one of your favorite running bloggers is dealing with an injury of some sort? Shin splints, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, achilles tendonitis – which one do YOU have? But it doesn’t have to be that way! That’s why April, Patty and I have suggested “injuries” as the topic for this week’s Tuesdays on the Run.
Have you ever heard of Berenstain Bear’s Bike Lesson? (No? Go. Read it now. Love that book!)
“This is what you should not do”
Sin 1: Ignoring that little niggling pain – Oh yeah, I do this one all the time. One thing I was told in my RRCA coaching class was that if it hurts when you start running and then stops hurting, that doesn’t mean you aren’t injured. In fact, that’s a very good time to take a break because you have a chance of heading off the injury. But, if you are like me, you run one more time to see if it happens again. (Some of us run a few more times, thereby guaranteeing it becomes an injury.)
Sin 2: Disrespecting the 10% rule – You know the rule. Don’t increase your mileage by more than 10% a week. And while you are at it, throw in a few recovery weeks. If you keep pushing and pushing and don’t let your body heal, you aren’t going to make progress, you are going to injure yourself. I actually did a great job with this during my training for 5 half marathons in 5 days. I increased by 5-10% for two weeks and then had a drop back week. Amazingly, despite reaching the highest mileage I’ve ever run, I came through the entire training AND all 13 half marathons injury free.
Sin 3: Challenging their body in too many ways at once – You know what I mean – let’s all add mileage to our long runs, do lots of speedwork, and hill train twice a week. Every run must push us or it’s not a worthwhile run. Yeah, that’s exactly what will land you on the injured list. Asking your body to make too many adaptations at once tears you down instead of building you up.
Sin 4: Running, running, and only running – OK, I’m the poster child for this sin. All I did all spring was run. During my training cycle, I really had no time for other things, but once I started racing? Yeah, I was just a slacker. But all those other cool things you can do? Yoga. Pilates. Weight lifting. Spinning. Cycling. Tae Kwon Do. The list is pretty much endless. And you know what those things do? Strengthen your body in different ways than running which will not only make you run stronger, but will also help prevent overuse injuries that come from using the same muscles and movement over and over again.
Sin 5: Not asking for help – So, you’ve admitted you’re hurt. That’s a great first step. But all you are doing is taking a break from running and maybe icing and foam rolling. Well, I have a secret for you: One appointment with a PT or a chiropractor or doctor (which one depends on what your issue is, what your insurance covers, yada yada yada) can often stop things from progressing and may make the healing process faster. I’m pretty sure if I’d seen my chiropractor as soon as I hurt my calf instead of waiting two weeks (and a number of “trial” runs), I would have lost a lot less training time than I did when I ran my first 5 half marathons in 5 days series.
You’ll note that I didn’t include not-stretching as a sin. I’m not sold on stretching being the solution. I’ve never been good about stretching and I can go ages without being injured as long as I don’t commit one of the above sins.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I’m a librarian who likes to research and has run a ton of miles and made lots of mistakes. Take my advice with a grain of salt.
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I would be careful on #4. Not that I do not agree or disagree, but several authors of some more recent running books are taking cross-training out of the equation or keeping it to a minimum. Outside of yoga (for recovery) any suggested exercises simulate or approximate a running move with either weights or stretchy bands. It’s basically about specialization. I get where they are coming from, but I am not sure I agree 100%. Personally, I am weightlifting to get to an overall fitness level. Once I am there, then I can specialize.
All that being said, I don’t think this new way of thinking (specifically specialization) would apply to either the casual or social runner.
Jamoosh recently posted…What the Friday again
Yeah, we learned about the rule of specificity in my coaching class. I do agree that running is the most important thing you can do to improve your running, but I also think that most people also run too hard when they are doing easy runs and long runs. So, having something else mixed in gives their body a break from that constant push. I definitely think it’s a YMMV thing – some people can streak, some people can’t run more than once or twice a week, the rest of us fall somewhere in the middle.
#4 is really important. It’s easy to fall into the only running and not doing anything else trap. I’ve come to realize how important cross training is and when I was injured recently it pretty much saved me.
Deborah Brooks recently posted…Reston Relay Tri
Yes, cross training can definitely help you maintain fitness when injured.
Totally agree with you on the stretching thing! I don’t stretch all that much and it never seems to affect whether or not I get injured or get over an injury faster. I will say that I have a lot less injuries once I went from only running to triathlons. All that cross training makes my muscles and bones very happy!
Courtney @The TriGirl Chronicles recently posted…Tri Talk Tuesday – Open Water Swim
Yeah, my calf is a happy camper when I do other workouts instead of just running.
I used to always have injuries (both knees, hip, shin, foot), but now I have been injury free for 2 years despite ramping up my training load…I know it’s all the stuff I have been doing, but don’t know if it’s specifically the cross training, stretching, nutrition or massage. All I know is the combination has worked super well for me and I’m not messing with it! I do know stretching works for me. I don’t always do pre-workout dynamic stretches, but when I do, it takes me less time to fall into my rhythm. I also definitely have noticed a decrease in muscle soreness and quicker recovery when I stretch and foam roll after my workouts. Sunday for example I went from long run to swim to lunch without stretching and I am kicking myself for not taking the time to stretch/roll/yoga post-workout!
Gabi recently posted…North East Training Weekend
I totally agree with all of this which is why I’m sitting down this week! (Or not really sitting down, but just doing a LOT of extra cross training.) I definitely don’t rest enough and I’ve got to change that.
Not running is so hard though! 🙂
Salt recently posted…Recap: Sunrise Yoga with Celebrity Trainer, Kristin McGee {Plus a Jamberry Winner!}
I love my rest days, so I’m pretty good about taking at least a day off each week (and sometimes I even take more LOL)
So true. Not listening to that little feeling left me run-less for six months. Cross-training and strength training are definitely huge as well–
Elena recently posted…Reflections on a Life-Changing Experience in British Columbia
BTDT, multiple times, sigh.
Number 1 is the hardest to do! But it is so true. Every time I’ve suffered an injury, I could have made it better by stopping the very moment I felt pain. I’ve got to keep this one in mind in the future!
Yep. When I injured my calf, I ran/walked the 3 miles home instead of calling my husband to get me. I paid in a big way for that.
I’m loving this advice and i’m thinking the 10 percent rule is probably why I got injured anyway! I always here that running is more mental than anything so one day after running 5 miles, ( I was feeling real good) I decided to go ahead and run 10 miles the next day. Afterall, I had ran 13 miles in the past. I thought I could do it. I definitely will be respecting this rule during my next training cycle. Thanks for the reminder!
Meranda@fairytalesandfitness recently posted…Do you think my Asparagus Salad will make it to the Cookbook?
Often are brains are strong enough to push us farther than our bodies really ought to go. Much better to build slowly.
I’m so guilty of all of this! So true =(
Liana@RunToMunch recently posted…Weekly Recap – 70.3 Training, or something
I think we all are to some degree, unfortunately.
the 10% rule is SO important. I took a small break for personal reasons and when I came back, I decided that I’d totally be able to run my regularly scheduled runs. my mileage increased by 50%-60% in 2-3 weeks (went from running 5-10k a week to 20-30k the week after) and guess who has shin splints now?!?! ):
never doing that again!
Carmy recently posted…Guest Post: How To Improve Your Speed!
I have trouble with that too! “But I was running x miles a month ago. Of course I can run x miles now…” Always gets me in trouble.
Listening to your body is the biggest thing about combatting injuries, I think. Only you know how much you can truly take and sometimes we just have to rest and give our bodies time to heal. You aren’t being a hero by pushing it to the limit during injury. In my link up post I talk about my ankle injury I sustained during my 5K over the weekend. While it’s still sore and not 100 percent (I rolled it pretty bad), it is getting better thanks to lots of ice sessions. I have continued to run but only very light ones at an easy pace with the help of some KT tape. If it hurt too much even with that as much as it would annoy me I’d stop. Injuries are so annoying but I guess they are just another battle scar of a true runner! Lol! 🙂
Hope recently posted…Race Recap: West Virginia 5K Championship
Hope your ankle heals quickly! Thanks for stopping by!
Great post! Although I haven’t had an actual injury from running, I do suffer from arthritis issues and this is smart advice for every runner, especially those like myself who have to really listen to their bodies in order to continue running for the long haul!
Pamela Robbins recently posted…Tuesdays on The Run-Injuries and Insanity!
Thanks for stopping by and yes, listening to your body is key. I’ve learned what’s a normal ache for me versus a brewing ache. And if I’m uncertain, I take a day off…
For as long as I’ve been running, and for as much as I know better, I still commit sins now and again–the ignoring an ache being the biggest. So dumb!
Linking up.
misszippy recently posted…Nailing the negative split
I’ve been given permission from my physio to ignore my niggles. She has diagnosed them as age-related and aren’t going to get worse by running. Probably if I stopped exercising because of little aches and pains I’d never exercise again. So much fun getting older.
Char recently posted…A Funny Thing Happened At The Coffee Shop
Ah, yes, the “old lady” niggles. I’ve got a few of those, but I’ve gotten pretty good at telling when something is from the running versus being old.
I am definitely adding more cross training in now that I signed up for a marathon. I have started biking and I really enjoy it.
Oh #3 is my problem at the moment. I decided to add serious weight training and speed work at the same time. Shockingly enough, my body is starting to rebel with fatigue and some of those twinges from #1. I’m pulling back on my speed work for a while to get used to the strength training and also because speed work outside in Florida in the summer is just miserable. I’m going to focus on strength this summer and add the focus on speedwork in the Fall. Great tips on what not to do!
April @ RunTheGreatWideSomewhere recently posted…Shin Splints 101
#4 is a big one for me – when I run and only run is when my body rebels. A little pilates and yoga makes a world of difference in my ability to stay off the injured list!
Michelle @ Running with Attitude recently posted…Back to the Chiro I go