Injury is the Enemy – Your body is like a savings account!
Injury is the enemy and must be avoided at all costs!
Think of the last time your were ill and couldn’t run. How grumpy were you? A running injury compounds these emotions. You become grumpy, irritable and lose an important part of who you are – your running, your freedom your stress relief!
If this isn’t bad enough a running injury completely derails all the hard work you had put in prior to that point! You’re not back at step one; you’re back prior to where you started!
The most common cause of running injury that we see is in-appropriate run load management. Runners try and do too much too soon!
Runners are impatient and too eager!
The only way to avoid this is to put a plan in place and monitor your run load.
Your body is like a savings account; you’re saving for race day! You need to make consistent deposits to reach your savings goal. A saving account earns interest, so does your running!
You need to make early deposits, as while small these are the ones that accrue the greatest interest on them and allow the loftier targets to be reached!
Often when I start working with runners I am holding them back, putting in the foundation that will allow them to run further and faster in the future. This foundation must be put in place. Failure to do so will result in injury. The same applies to you.
The three steps you must put in place to ensure you do not develop an injury from inappropriate run load are:
- Have a plan that ensures run load is developed appropriately – 10% per week is the tried and tested recommendation
- Build an appropriate foundation of running early – don’t cram for your race start preparation early
- Be patient – plan to be in the sport years not months
If you or anyone you know is suffering from a running injury. When you return to running put a plan in place and be patient. If you take small steps and use a gradual approach you will be rewarded in the long run!
Avoid injury at all costs!
Enjoy the adventure.
Run, smile and have fun!
Nick Muxlow