The Two Mistakes That Every Runner Makes…
by Jessica Ackad
Its run season! I love running – it has always been my happy place; for both the physical and mental benefits. But running is also the most common culprit for the lower limb injuries that I see in the clinic. And with the weather cooling down and some of the bigger runs on the immediate horizon (SMH half is veeeery soon! Blackmores is still scheduled for September plenty of time to train for that one) and the growing popularity of trail runs and ultras, I have seen a little spike in injured runners coming through….
So here it is, my annual spiel on why runners pretty much always get injured:
- Training errors
- Recovery errors
Training errors are super easy to make. These are usually issues with increases in training. There are several ways that we can increase our training load by changing up frequency, duration and intensity. For running that looks like running more often, for longer, faster.
Typically if you increase one or all of these aspects too much then a few weeks into the change (usually about 8-12 weeks – which based on the length of most training programs coincides with right before race day), something is going to break down, usually a tendon.
A good rule of thumb is not to increase by more than 10% week to week. Another good rule is to look at what you are doing and remove the ‘junk’ k’s. Take a look at the running you are doing across the course of your week – whether it is a program you are following, or you are just running without really thinking or planning it out. Anything that doesn’t service a specific purpose and is just there to pad out some extra volume probably doesn’t really need to be there. If you need help working this out – just ask me, I’m always happy to chat running 😉
And hand in hand with this is recovery errors. Generally a lack of planned recovery. Your body actually needs recovery in order to rebuild and re-strengthen. To be able to create the adaptive changes that your training is stimulating. Without building recovery into your training you are just continually beating your tissues down and eventually they will breakdown on you… Often just removing the junk k’s out of your week will fix this one. But again if you need some help seeing where to put this into your program reach out 🙂
Finally – not critical, but definitely super beneficial, is some accessory work. For runners some targeted strength work is never going to go astray. This will look different for everyone, but if you are curious to know more or to improve your foundation for running then come along to our next workshop. Or check out our online 8 week program!
If you would like to ask me a question about ankle sprains or anything else that I may be able to help you with you can text me a message via 0480 030 785.
Jessica Ackad
Physiotherapist
Peak Health Services.
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