What do you do to prevent injuries?

Ever had a gait analysis? Difference in length between left/right leg? Old shoes? Training too hard too soon after recovery? Not enough easy miles (base)?

Over striding?

Often times I end up pushing the pace too hard during easier runs after having done harder runs the day before/ multiple days in succession. Right now I am in the process of building up mileage for my winter track season and have made sure to take easy days easy. I was at about 60mpw and then had to take a little under a week off for midterms, and coming back a mere 3 mile run aggravated my calves and achilles when I am typically doing 9 a day with a 12-13 mile long run.

My plan is to build up slowly, having done 3 miles the other day, will do 5, then the next 7, and the day after 9 again. I din't run yesterday because of some runner's knee I'm dealing with after running those 3 miles after that 1 week break. Aside from that, does this sound like a viable way to get back into my base building?

Easy days easy

Sleep 8-10 hours

Eat a good, healthy diet (and eat enough!)

Strength train. Jay Johnson’s SAM routine is great and can be/probably should be done daily

Variety. Paces, surfaces, shoes.

Hehwjsh wrote:

Easy days easy

Sleep 8-10 hours

Eat a good, healthy diet (and eat enough!)

Strength train. Jay Johnson’s SAM routine is great and can be/probably should be done daily

Variety. Paces, surfaces, shoes.

+1, after some ITBS earlier this year I've been spending 30 minutes maybe 5 nights a week doing a mix of foam rolling and parts of the SAM routine.

Yes, be careful.

You could run loops of about a mile, so you can quit as soon as you start to hurt, without having to walk back 5 miles.

And keep up the strength training.

If you still get hurt, have a gait analysis.

Hehwjsh wrote:

Jay Johnson’s SAM routine is great and can be/probably should be done daily

Thanks for the advice, what exactly is the routine?

1. Easy mileage easy, this is the most important thing.

2. Don't be underweight, likewise don't be overweight.

3. Heavy weight training, not p#ssy exercises you see runners doing. But actual weight training. Like, deadlifting and squating heavy for 1-5 reps.

4. Don't force yourself to run any particular way.

5. Do not read born to run, related to number the last point. Going into the forefoot carp made me believe to land forefoot. So I did, and I was injury plagued, always consistently injured with ankle injuries. Until I switched back to heel striking.

6. Eat a healthy diet, well balanced. Do not emphasize one nutrient over another. Just focus on eating a well balanced, whole foods diet.

7. Consistency in training, consistent mileage.

When your injury prone you’ve got to listen to your body which can be hard in college and with teammates (workout schedules/races/egos/etc). Run your easy days easy and try and find paths and trails that aren’t too technical or hard on the body.

Also post run I find that getting in pool and just walking 15 minutes in 3ft or so deep does a lot for inflammation from training. Seriously try it and you’ll thank me.

If something hurts don’t run hard workouts on it. Just run or do a lighter session. Sometimes you need to skip the workouts but it’s better than not running at all.

Find a consistent schedule you can handle. It may be less mileage but it’s better than 2-3 weeks off here n there. Consistency is key.

Learn to train smarter not harder.

This was my life and I just had to really find what worked best for me so I wasn’t sidelined my whole life. Also at the level you train in college usually all runners will have some injuries or soreness to deal with. Learn what you can and can’t run through is key. Taking days off all the time isn’t always necessary.

pushinthrupain wrote:

Hehwjsh wrote:

Jay Johnson’s SAM routine is great and can be/probably should be done daily

Thanks for the advice, what exactly is the routine?

SAM, for Strength and Mobility. He's got a couple hard and easy versions. There are videos on YouTube. Personally, I don't love the SAM ones.

But I do his Lunge Matrix before every run, and lately I've been doing his Core X routine after 3-4 runs each week.

I think they help tremendously. I took a break from them this summer and in a few weeks had some pretty big niggles come on. One required some decent time off. I'm back on the consistent work and my body is feeling really good.

Ekiden star wrote:

1. Easy mileage easy, this is the most important thing.

2. Don't be underweight, likewise don't be overweight.

3. Heavy weight training, not p#ssy exercises you see runners doing. But actual weight training. Like, deadlifting and squating heavy for 1-5 reps.

4. Don't force yourself to run any particular way.

5. Do not read born to run, related to number the last point. Going into the forefoot carp made me believe to land forefoot. So I did, and I was injury plagued, always consistently injured with ankle injuries. Until I switched back to heel striking.

6. Eat a healthy diet, well balanced. Do not emphasize one nutrient over another. Just focus on eating a well balanced, whole foods diet.

Solid advice. Big believer in strength work, mobility and easy running. Easy running is relative to one self and will vary with the day. Your gait might be an issue as it could put unnecessary stress on your body depending on foot strike. Diet and recovery play a big role. I can feel the days when taking a ZERO is okay and I'll be better for it the next day. IG all stars might have you think otherwise, but without recovery, it's a vicious cycle. Good luck!

Pound beers with the boys to help with recovery, then hammer 20 miles the morning after

pushinthrupain wrote:

I've come to terms that I am more injury prone than most runners, often having to deal with lingering aches and pains that my college teammates don't seem to get. Any advice on how to prevent/ get rid of things like:

runner's knee?

achilles tendinitis?

shin splints/ posterior tibial tendinitis?

I get runner's knee every few months and I do strengthening exercises of the surrounding muscles like the quads and calves to prevent it. For Achilles tendinitis I have to stop runs early because of the amount of pain I am in and end up taking a few days of active recovery. For posterior tibial tendinitis I also back off of my training because I have pushed through it in the past and almost got a stress fracture.

Any tightness in either major calf muscle will transmit down thru the Achilles and up through the other muscle. It all works together. Strengthening the calves is good, but they need constant attention in terms of stretching and foam rolling if you are still having problems. The way your feet contact the ground is going to also have a significant effect on all the joints below your hip. Keeping a neutral foot will be easier if you make sure your ankles and hips are mobile. Don't underestimate the effect of having tight hips on the rest of your body. If you have limited hip mobility, you can easily experience ankle/knee/hip/shoulder problems when you run or lift or exercise.

From another terribly injury prone athlete. I feel your pain. Sometimes other athletes are just genetically blessed with uniformly healthy track experiences and can't imagine what it's like!

you are describing my exact situation.

so annoying, post season ill take a week break from running then my first 20 minute easy run back by Achilles are killing me and my post tib is crazy weak and my IT bands are crazy tight.

what is especially stupid about it is that I would be running 60mpw completely healthy just 2 weeks before hand...

What I started doing is taking about 2 days completely off from running then do 2 weeks of like 20-40 minutes SUPER easy, like 830 miles, then ease back into real training. it's helped me avoid that stupid month-long period of constant unhealthy ached and pains but I think I also recover from the season pretty well.

Myle Kerber wrote:

Pound beers with the boys to help with recovery, then hammer 20 miles the morning after

+1

Made me laugh

Avoiding asphalt as much as possible, and concrete like the plague. Dirt and gravel are your best friends.

Smooth, consistent form is also crucial.

Plus, some people are just born injury-prone or injury-resistant. Take two runners with similar body types and forms, and they still get different injury rates and types of injuries.

You get faster when you REST, not when you run. Eat and sleep! Think of training as a vaccine to stimulate your body to improve, while rest is when it actually responds to that vaccine (i.e., workouts).

This is the major difference between how Kenyans train vs. how Japanese and many North Americans train. Kenyans have a more laid-back approach to training and emphasize rest a lot. Japanese and many Americans will push their bodies so hard that chronic injuries and fatigue inevitably occur.

Injures are largely prevented in the off season. Did you have any big downtime , relative rest time? Did you just do year round periodization schemes around running that didn't include massive rest followed by a new slow build-up? Yes I know everybody doesn't need it , but a lot of us do.