Running strategies for avoiding injury

[RosieTR]

DH and I are thinking of doing a marathon in the next year, sometime after August. I have been looking at a couple of running books that talk about strategy for avoiding injury. One is Chi Running, the other is the Pose Method. Anyone tried either of these methods? Your thoughts? Are they complimentary? Any other suggestions for injury-reducing methods? I already run frequently in "barefoot" style shoes which work fine for like the 3-4 mile distance.

[frugalista]

Hi! I am currently training for a half-marathon in May and a marathon in December. I also run in minimalist shoes, and ChiRunning works very well in combination with barefoot running to ensure you do not heel strike. The two other suggestions I have is to read books by Jeff Galloway, who is a proponent of run/walk intervals. Basically, you take walk breaks at regular intervals to help preserve your endurance. I also would recommend increasing your distance by no more than 10 percent per week. Finally, don't overtrain. I find that two "speed" workouts (2-3 mile runs) and one "long slow distance" run per week works very well for me. check out www.jeffgalloway.com (http://www.jeffgalloway.com) for more details.

I have gone from couch potato to running ten miles on my long slow runs in about a year with NO injuries using the methods above. I am tired the day I do the long run, but take a rest day before and after and that works very very well for me. Hope all this helps.

[Greg44]

I have always been injury prone - and most of the time it has been from increasing my speed and distance too quickly. I also tend to pronate so I had some special made orthodics (sp?) made and they help a lot.

[janharker]

Do not EVER neglect a complete stretching regimen.

[puglogic]

Your mileage may vary (no pun intended:) ) but I have avoided most running injuries over the past few years by:

--Never running more than two days in a row without a day of cross-training in between (more important for older runners, I think)
--Never stretching cold muscles - ONLY warm muscles, no exceptions -- and learning how to stretch lesser-known structures like the soleus and iliotibial band
--Never increasing my distance more than 10-15% per week, often less than that
--Making absolutely sure I am getting enough protein and calcium - I have it dialed in to a minimum number of milligrams that works for me
--Introducing some walking into my runs a la Jeff Galloway (super helpful once you get over the 'stigma' of not running every single second)
--Losing weight to reduce the pounding

I do not run on concrete, but I have that luxury with lots of trails around. Minimalist shoes do not work well for me, but I too had my feet molded and got custom orthotics. I'm training for a trail half this fall and so far so good! GOOD LUCK RosieTR!!

[Madsen]

I usually run pose-style and it works pretty well. Your best bet would probably be to do one of those "xx week out" training program: where it's a set training regimen depending on how long you've got to the race --- it has you do runs throughout the week of different mileages, upping the volume as the race gets closer.

[Dhiana]

Most running training plans have plans to run 4-7 days per week with long mileage one day per week. Don't skip the shorter runs during the rest of the week. These also help your body adjust to the every increasing endurance levels. My husband was skipping those and couldn't figure out why he was having problems w/his ITB/shin splints. As soon as he added them back in, his body adjusted and the injuries went away.

Be sure to eat correctly. Not just what to eat but WHEN to eat and it what quantities to help ensure you are properly fueling/refueling for your added physical activities. Endurance Sports Nutrition by Suzanne Girard Eberle has been a huge help in keeping me running and helping my husband jump into triathlons. I used to burn out after about 6 weeks of training.

Good Luck on your Training =)

[RosieTR]

Thanks for all the advice! I have custom orthotics for hiking boots, so perhaps I will try them in some shoes and see. I like the idea of 3x per week running in terms of time we can devote. Normally DH and I do short runs on Tues and Thurs, with a hike on Sundays (our only common day off) because we're frequently training for some sort of hike/backpack trip. My thoughts were to start doing Tues morning hike, Thurs morning run and Sunday hike until a planned backpack trip this summer, then switch the hikes to running with a 3x per week plan (a short/easy, a short tempo and a long/easy run, increasing mileage slowly). Although Boulder Backroads sounds like a fantastic marathon, the timing of it might be problematic because it would be a short training window after the backpack trip (end of July). The other top choice for us would be Tucson since it's in Dec and not too far to drive on the morning of.

[mm1970]

So...last year/year before, I ran two half marathons and a 10 miler. And...I got injured. After the 10 miler before the 2nd half. (hip/sciatica pain, performis(Sp) syndrome). I switched to tri training and decreased my running, and got injured again (knee).

After not being able to run for months (any time I tried, even if for one minute, my knee would hurt and the rest of the day the sciatic pain was unbearable), I talked to my doctor. He suggested orthotics, the foam roller, and knee brace.

First, I have to admit, that I sucked at stretching. And I shouldn't have, at 39/40 years old. When I was running and went to yoga the day after my long runs, I was fine. But boy, the lack of stretching did me in. Hence the foam roller recommendation. I also pronate like crazy.

I went through physical therapy, and the PT recommended Chi Running. He taught me all about it (didn't make me give up running, and it was during my tri training). Sciatic pain got better but did not go away.

I haven't gotten the orthotics yet. Mostly because I've read about Chi Running and barefoot running and thought that this is a low-budget thing that might work, so why not try it. On vacation in Hawaii 2 weeks ago, I didn't even try running (have only tried 4-5 times since August), except for fun. Like "let's see if we can race the train and win" with my 5 year old. So, running in flip flops for a few minutes at a time. And...no sciatic or knee pain. Hmmm. So yesterday, ran on the beach (4-5 times, 30 sec to 1 min at a time, barefoot). And...no sciatic pain, minimal knee pain.

What I'm getting at is that I'm going to try more of this barefoot/Chi running thing over the next month, before I run out and buy orthotics. I really have no hopes to run another half marathon (I did like it, and was in the best cardio shape of my life, but have admitted that maybe shorter runs are better for my body). But I'd like to be able to run 3 miles a couple of times per week.