All posts tagged injury

Don’t Panic

By On February 1, 2012 In Thoughts With 1 Comment Permanent Link to Don’t PanicPermalink

I was chatting back and forth with another runner last night on Twitter and she said something that immediately made me think, “that’s a blog post.”

@ thank you. It's so hard not to go panic mode.
January 31, 2012 11:16 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite
@hopebombs
jess howard

She, like I am, is training for the BMO Vancouver Marathon in May. Like most runners aiming for that race, she’s in the midst of the mileage ramp up that comes at the beginning of almost all marathon programs.

That increase in mileage usually brings along with it some aches and pains as the body adapts to the new normal of running 35 kilometres a week (or more).

When those aches and pains come, it’s so easy to go into panic mode. What if these shin splints get worse? Will this IT band prevent me from doing my long run this weekend? My knees are angry but I can’t skip this tempo run.

I’ll put here what I told her on Twitter:

@ No need to panic. Goal #1 is to get to the start line in good shape. The race will take care of itself - it always does.
January 31, 2012 11:19 pm via Twitter for MacReplyRetweetFavorite
@JamesKoole
James Koole

As mentioned in the priorities post a few days back, missing a run or cutting back on the miles a little bit will not cause you to miss your race. On the other hand, left untreated, an injury very well could.

So if you are worried about your shins, or struggling with some sore hips or knees, the very best thing you can do is to slow down, and back off on the training for a bit.

This is your body telling you that you’ve gone too far, or too fast, or both. Listen to what it is telling you know so it doesn’t really start yelling at you later in your training program.

Most of all, don’t panic. You spring marathon is probably still 3 months away and that’s plenty of time to build up the strength and fitness that you’ll need to complete it. Job one right now is to get to the start line uninjured and ready to give it your best.

The race will worry about itself.

Thanks to Flickr user thisisbossi for the pic and for releasing it under Creative Commons.

Speed Kills

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By On January 30, 2012 In Thoughts With No Comments Permanent Link to Speed KillsPermalink

Everyone likes to run fast. It’s all kids do – they blast around at full speed, running until they drop. Go watch a kids cross-country race – almost all of the competitors will invariably go out too fast (just like us big kids in the marathon often do).

On race day, going out too fast makes for an unpleasant second half to the race. In training, going out too fast is often the ticket to injury.

When planning out your training schedule, remember to also plan out a reasonable pace for each run. Kicking up the pace to much on your tempo runs is a surefire way to bring on shin splints or IT band trouble. That’s especially true early on in the program as you ramp up your mileage.

Don’t forget to slow down on your long Sunday runs too. The “S” in LSD stands for slow and it applies to you too, speedy.

We all want to be fast. But like running far, you can’t get there in a day. You wouldn’t do at 32km run two weeks into your training program. So why would you think that you could run your expected marathon race pace three weeks into your schedule?

Build speed along with strength over the course of your training program and you’ll avoid injury, and have a better result come race day.

Thanks to Flickr user PhotosbyJOhn.net for the pic and for releasing it under Creative Commons.