Running News Daily

Six training rules for avoiding injuries

Injuries are common among runners, so it’s no surprise that we spend a lot of time thinking about how to avoid them. While nutrition, sleep and other lifestyle factors contribute to injury risk, training errors are often the main causes of running injuries. If you find yourself dealing with injuries that just keep coming back, evaluate your training and make sure you’re following these six rules to keep yourself healthy.

Avoid peaks and valleys

One of the most common periods during your training cycle when you’re more likely to get injured is when you’re increasing your weekly mileage. Runners often make the mistake of ramping up their running volume too quickly, then bringing it back down again just as suddenly as it went up, creating big peaks and valleys in their training program.

Running volume should be increased slowly and thoughtfully to avoid running injuries, and if your running mileage tends to fluctuate significantly from week to week or month to month, your body won’t be able to keep up. If you want to increase your running volume, create a plan to add more mileage in safely so your body has time to adapt to the increased demands.

Spread the work

With busy schedules and other commitments, recreational runners tend to front-load or back-load their training weeks, doing the majority of their running on the weekends and doing little to no running in the middle of the week. This puts a lot of stress on your body over a very short timeframe and gives you very little time to recover during those high-volume days. As hard as it may be to manage your weekly schedule, runners who want to avoid injuries should spread their high-mileage days throughout the week so your body has adequate time to recover between longer or harder sessions.

Take it easy

You should not be doing every run at maximum effort. The majority of your running (many coaches agree 80 per cent) should be done at an easy, recovery effort. This will allow you to perform better on your hard days, which should be spread throughout the week to give your body a chance to adapt to your training. Remember, if you can’t hold a conversation during your easy day run, you’re running too hard.

Do year-round speed work

The other time during your training when you’re most likely to get injured is when you’re re-introducing speedwork into your program after a period of time off. The best way to avoid this is to always include some fast running, even during your off-season and base-season. This doesn’t mean doing hard, gut-busting workouts year-round, but rather including strides or light fartleks in your easy runs during weeks when you have no speedwork sessions on the calendar.

These should not be exhausting workouts but are simply a way to remind your body how to run fast so they’re ready for harder sessions later on. The only time you shouldn’t be doing any fast running is in the two or three weeks after your goal race or when you’re returning from injury.

Strength train

Many running injuries are caused by muscle weaknesses or imbalances, all of which can be addressed with a strength training program. If you’re not sure where to begin, talk with a physiotherapist or strength coach who specializes in working with runners, or check out this strength training blueprint for runners to help you get started.

Listen to your body

If you feel like something isn’t right, pay attention to it. Many runners run through seemingly small aches or pains, which often make them worse. In many cases, taking a couple of days off can prevent small niggles from becoming big problems, so listen to your body when something doesn’t feel quite right.

In general, many experts advise runners to abide by the 3/10 rule. If your pain is a three out of 10 or less, you can run through it, but should do something to address the problem if the discomfort persists for more than three days. If the pain gets worse as you run, is worse the day after or causes you to change your running gait, you should take time off and speak with a physical therapist or other sports medicine professional to address the issue.