There are many things you can do to reduce the chances of getting injured. You must learn to read your body, if that makes sense. Do not be scared to take a day off if your body needs it. A day off will be much better than a potential three month injury. Take an easy day when you need it. Do not be too stubborn about everything. A couple days off will not kill you. Running is an art…you must perfect it. I would love if there were no injuries involved with running and races were based purely on who trained the hardest. Unfortunately that is not the case. You have to be smart about everything including stretching, sleep, and extracurricular activities.
Cross training is an option you can partake in when injured. It can make you content with yourself, but can also make you hate life. I have experienced both situations. When I started to hate life because of cross training, I stopped because the benefits of it were outweighed by the negatives. There have been other times when I cross trained two hours a day and could mentally deal with it. Cross training helps you maintain a decent fitness level, so if you can mentally deal with it, go for it. The general rule is that you can do anything, which does not hurt the injured area. Remember cross training is not a substitute for running.
TIPS TO AVOID INJURY:
• EASY DAYS: Take recovery days when you need them. If your muscles are
sore and tight one day, go a little easier. Most injuries occur when your body
is broken down and to weak to take the abuse you are giving it, so when your
muscles are tired and worn out you are much more prone to injury.
• STRETCHING: Stretch very lightly before runs and harder after runs.
Do not stretch hard before running because that can cause injury in itself.
You can tear or strain muscles much easier if they are not warmed up. Stretching
after runs is a major positive. The more flexible you are, the less you get
hurt so take the time to stretch out.
• ICE: Ice after runs if you have any soreness or inflammation. Ice will
reduce the swelling and is a quick and easy way to prevent some injuries.
• MASSAGE: If you are extremely sore and have aches and pains, get a massage.
This can loosen up the muscles and get all of the knots out, which in return
can prevent injury. Find a masseuse that is right for you. You may prefer light
massages or deep tissue massages. Personally I prefer deep tissue, but others
swear by lighter work. Do what works for you! Just because one thing is good
for one person does not mean it is best for you.
• REST DAY: Take a day off, if you need it. This is much harder to do,
because everyone feels taking a day off will mess everything up. It wont!!!
It is much better to take a day off than to spend a month on crutches. This
can sometimes be hard, because you don\'t want to be a sissy, but at the same
time don\'t want to get hurt.
• SLEEP: Get the proper amount of sleep. A runner needs at least 8 hours
of sleep a night to allow proper muscle recovery and avoid sickness. If your
body is fatigued from lack of sleep you are much more likely to get an illness,
which will break down your immune system and can then lead to injury. If you
do get sick you may need to take a day off or an easy day because your body
is not at full strength and running can break the body down even more
• NUTRITION: Get all the nutrients you need. If you do not your body can
be more prone to illness and injury. For example if you do not get enough Calcium
you are much more prone to stress fractures. Vitamins and minerals will also
fight foreign substances and prevent illness.
• WEIGHTS: If you are weak in certain areas of your bodies, you may consider
a light weight program or exercises to strengthen the weak area. I would tend
to lean on the exercise side rather than the weight side, but if you decide
on weights do not overdo it and start with very light weights.
TIPS FOR CROSS TRAINING:
• Do not do anything, which may delay your recovery
• If you absolutely hate cross training, do not do it because your mood
will be ruined and you may even question why you run if you have to go through
things like cross training.
• If you are injury prone, decrease the amount you run and cross train
on a regular basis
• If cross training because of an injury try to mimic running workouts
while cross training
• Listen to music or watch a video while cross training so you don\'t get
too bored.
Why cross train?
• Avoid Injury by strengthening other muscles
• Maintain a decent fitness level
• Puts variety in your workouts
• Promote smooth action between muscles groups
• Increase your endurance level without beating up your legs
• Can help you lose more weight
CROSS TRAINING METHODS:
• Aqua Jogging: One of the safest ways to cross train. The major positive
to aqua jogging is that you maintain the running motion while avoiding impact.
You may want to wear running shoes in the pool to help aid you in keeping a
running form and adding resistance. You can do intervals in the pool and can
use different forms in the pool to strengthen different areas. "Pistons"
involve a quick up and down motion (like a piston in a car) and gets your legs
moving very quickly hopefully at a downhill running rhythm. "Skiing"
is just as it sounds. You keep your legs straight and move them in a cross country
skiing motion. This gets your legs tired and mimics hill running. You will feel
the burn in your hamstrings if done correctly. Mix the three motions (running,
pistons, and skiing) in intervals to maximize your effort. Another method to
make you breathe harder is to hold your breath at times if you are not breathing
hard enough. There comes a point when you cant move your legs any faster, but
you\'re not breathing very hard...this is when you need to occasionally hold
your breath.
• Biking: This is a good way to increase your quad strength and get outside,
if you hate training indoors. This is probably the most fun, because you get
to experience the outdoors and can push yourself very hard and get your heart
rate way up. You can even join a riding group and will probably hold your own
against anybody on the hills. If you are competitive, biking may be the best
cross training method for you because you can always push the pace with fellow
riders or try to beat your best time. Biking is not a compatible cross training
method for many injuries, so if it hurts your injuries, don\'t do it. Just go
out and hammer and you\'ll maintain a state of fitness. If you have not rode
for awhile your quads are going to burn like hell at first. After the first
two days you will be in a world of pain if you ride hard. This is ok though.
Just take a day off every few days so you don\'t completely tax your quads. 4
miles of biking is equal to about 1 mile of running in terms of fitness. Biking
can increase flexibility in your hips and knees, increase your ability to run
up hills, and can even increase leg speed. Make sure you get a decent bike...it
will last you awhile in case you get hurt again or so you can continue to ride
even when healthy.
• Swimming: This can be completely non impact if you place a buoy in between
your legs and do not push off the walls. Swimming is very hard at first so start
out slow so you don\'t drown. You may also get leg cramps at first but they will
stop. Swimming is probably one of the best aerobic workouts, and will increase
your upper body strength. Although it gets very boring it keeps you in shape
and burns a lot of calories. One mile of swimming is equal to about five miles
of running. If you enjoy the swimming and biking you may want to try a triathlon,
which is the ultimate body punisher.
• Eliptical Trainer: This was my personal favorite in high school, while
now the only cross training methods I use are biking (just got a triathlon bike
to train on) and a little aqua jogging. The eliptical trainer keeps you in great
shape, but can not be used with many injuries. It is somewhat similar to the
running motion, and you can get your heart rate way up with this and can give
your legs a great workout. If this does not hurt your injury, do it. You can
do intervals on it as well and you will be dog tired when done.
• Stair Stepper: This will hit your calves hard and will get them into
great shape. The stair stepper can hurt your knees so be careful. I would not
do much of this, because of the knee thing, but if you can do it once in awhile
for your calves that would be good. Maybe just do 20 minutes of it all out,
a couple times a week.
CROSS TRAINING WORKOUTS:
• If you are injured and want to stay in decent shape, you should definitely
consider some of the following workouts. Do not do any of them if it effects
your injury, or makes you hate running. You can usually do anything as long
as it does not hurt.
• First try to hit around 12 hours a week of cross training. Do not go
much over this because you still want to maintain runner legs and do not want
to build the wrong muscles too much.
• Try 2 hours a day, 5 times a week. The other 2 days just do 1 hour.
Mix workouts with steady efforts.
Workout 1
• Elliptical trainer:
• 10 minute warm- up.
• 10 x 30 seconds hard (to mimic strides.)
• 6 x 5 minutes hard effort with 1:30 recovery (to mimic 6 x 1 mile repeats.
Take less rest than running because you do not need as much on the elliptical
trainer.)
• 5 minutes cool- down.
Workout 2
• Aqua jogging
• 10 minute war- up.
• 6 x 1 minute hard with 30 seconds recovery
• 8 x 3 minutes hard with 1 minute rest
• 6 x 1 minute hard with 30 seconds rest.
• 5 minute cool-down
Workout 3
• Swimming
• 300 meter warm- up
• 8 x 25 meters on the 30 (every 30 seconds start)
• 4 x 200 meters on the 3:15
• 6 x 50 on the 50
• 8 x 25 meters on the 1:00 with no O2 (swim freestyle but do not take
a breath the entire 25 meters. These will hurt by the end.)
• 200 meter cool down
Workout 4
• Bicycling
• 20 minute warm-up.
• 6 x 5 minutes hard with 2 minutes recovery
• 30 minute steady
• 10 minute cool- down.
Example of a 2 hour day
• Workout 1 + 45 minutes aqua jogging (steady effort. Just keep the running
motion. This is not a ball buster) + 20 minute stair stepper.
• Workout 2 + 1 hour bike ride (steady)
• Workout 3 + 80 minute bike ride (steady.)
• Workout 4 + 30 minute aqua jogging.