Shut things down for at least a week after a hard race over 5 miles.
Take the day off work after a race if possible
Avoid concrete at all costs. Especially towards the end of runs when your form might be breaking down.
Shut things down for at least a week after a hard race over 5 miles.
Take the day off work after a race if possible
Avoid concrete at all costs. Especially towards the end of runs when your form might be breaking down.
This, don't always run facing traffic same pitch.
Keep a few different makes and models of sneakers in rotation.
Strength training, using the right shoes, and sleeping enough
bump
Coming back from IT band problems last year, I worked a lot on strengthening my hips.
Only one way wrote:
The only way for me to stay injury free was to stop running altogether. Been 3 years if no injuries. I feel great and look great.
Agreed
Most of my mileage is done on soft trails or grass. I do as much of my easy mileage as possible on soft surfaces.
Slowed intensity of easy runs by about 15% and swallowed my pride on threshold and track workouts to make sure I wasn't running too hard. Injury free and marathon PR in my 40s.
Good luck!
Lunge matrix
Others:
1. Get a good night's sleep every night so that you are recovering
2. Use several different pairs of shoes to vary stress on your body
3. Learn when not to try to run through problems that running will just make worse - ITBS is a good example of this.
Consistency and avoiding doing stupid things.
I've been running on concrete and asphalt with zero injuries as a masters runner. Used to run on soft trails and repeatedly sprained my ankles when I wasn't running, but I also do lots more cross training and strength/balance exercises now.
Schedule easy weeks regularly. Organise your training into cycles of three weeks with the fourth week being easier, so that your body is able to digest the training load.
Not only helps avoid injuries but also gives your body a chance to adapt to the training you do. Every runner knows about the supercompensation principle, but few actually plan their training accordingly. Remember, training doesn't make you a better runner, rest does.
Limiting time on roads/pavement I think is the main thing. I do half or more of my running on dirt trails.
Also: Having a variety of shoes in rotation (1 trail, 1 lower profile for faster stuff, 1 "road" shoe). And frankly at my age (51) not doing a whole lot of miles the last few years (30-40 per week).
Gravy wrote:
Consistency and avoiding doing stupid things.
I've been running on concrete and asphalt with zero injuries as a masters runner. Used to run on soft trails and repeatedly sprained my ankles when I wasn't running, but I also do lots more cross training and strength/balance exercises now.
Same here. I love smooth sidewalks the best, but watch out for raised edges (mark and report them to the city). Otherwise they're quite smooth and much better than the street. I used to run barefoot on sidewalks and found it not only much faster than the track but also easier on my feet. I've never had any injuries from running on sidewalks.
lots of leg and hip strength work.
What do you mean by hip strength work?
HGH
Can you give us some examples of hip strength work?
Jay Johnson has several good videos on hip strength and mobility.
Good running form (Forefoot strike, not overstriding, high cadence, etc.)
LM - Lunge Matrix - takes 3:5 min
LS - Leg Swigs - takes 1:5 min
So LMLS takes 5 minutes. You do that before you run - before your first step. After a couple of weeks you won't feel "normal" in the first 10-15 min of a run if you skipped it.
After the run you do Strength and Mobility - SAM - which entails Core Strength, Hip Strength and Hip Mobility.
The videos are organized into Easy and Hard days. Do the SAM work immediately after the run to extend the aerobic effort, though SAM is organized in such a way that it's a natural cool-down and if you're fit it will be pretty easy in the second half of the routine. This will take 10 min on Easy days, 12-15 on Hard days.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUzqPLVEQwhfDFhae0qeR5IxAbddi_nmL
I highly recommend Phil and Jim Wharton's rope stretching (AIF - Active Isolated Flexibility).
Bottom line is runners like to run and don't like to to anything else (Malcolm Gladwell said it well on Tim Ferriss podcast, in the same episode where he talks about checking LR first thing in the morning).
LMLS and SAM work, and they're not exciting.
Also, if you've done Myrtl in the past, stop and do SAM as Dr. Richard Hansen, Roots Running Project coach, organized SAM.