The race calendar is approaching & we thought we’d share our top tips for preventing running injury as you increase your training…
- Strength training -we mean lifting weights in exercises like calf raises, squats and deadlifts- twice per week will improve your running economy and can reduce injury risk by up to 50%!
- If you’re suffering with a niggle, get in touch with a physio who can help you on the road to recovery to ensure you can get the most out of your training while dealing with the injury.
- It’s better to turn up to a race under-prepared on mileage & in good condition than really well trained but injured, you can always rely on a bit of race day adrenaline to pull you through those last few miles.
- It’s a good idea to include a plateau week every month where you don’t increase your weekly training load, which allows your body to adapt & recover a little.
- Don’t run too hard on your easy runs- as a rough rule of thumb do 80% of your runs around 20% of your maximal effort.
- Be realistic in training goals- big jumps in training load often lead to injury. So if you’ve never run before then make your first goal a 5k and allow time to build gradually towards the marathon.
- Remember that you don’t get stronger when you are running- you get stronger when you’re recovering so give as much effort to active recovery as you give to training. You might choose to get a sports massage, stretch, take a sea dip, hot bath, easy yoga, meditate, sauna… whatever works for you!!
