How to run injury free - Half and Full Marathon Training
So excited to share with you an article written by my friend, client and running buddy, Allison Baker Merritt. Not only is she a seasoned runner but she has dealt with some injuries in the past so she’s here to give you all of her wisdom on how to train and prevent a running injury. Please enjoy and leave any questions you might have for myself or Allison in the comments!
If you’ve ever been sidelined from running by an injury, you know how devastating it can be. This blog post is for you. And if you haven’t been sidelined by an injury, this blog post is especially for you.
No matter your age, experience, or fitness level, it’s important to take care of your body. You can’t expect to train for a marathon 10 hours a week, for months, and your body to continue to operate smoothly without a little self care. And if you can, I don’t want to hear about it. ;)
So, what do you need to do to maintain your fitness and keep injury risk at bay? Here are five tips to keep you injury free and race-ready. These tips are specifically for runners, but contain valuable tips for athletes at any level.
Foam Roll. Seriously.
When I was in my 20s, a runner in her 40s warned me to foam roll religiously or regret it forever like she had. Did I listen to her? Of course not, which is why I’m hoping you’ll be far wiser than me.
Foam rolling sucks and it hurts, but it’s an important part of muscle recovery. Especially because lots of runners suffer from injuries related to their IT bands. Roll it out. Roll it often. Or regret it forever.
New to foam rolling? Here are some helpful foam rolling tips to get you started.
2. Eat for Performance.
Look, there’s a time for calorie restriction, and training for a race is not one of them. If you want your body to perform at its peak, you need to feed it high quality, nutritious meals. The good news is, that means CARBS. And the higher quality, more nutrient dense carbs, the better (e.g. sweet potatoes, veggies, and the occasional cheeky ice cream treat).
You’ll also need to up your protein while training to allow your muscles to recover properly. I recommend partnering with a nutritionist and trainer like Kristin to build the perfect meal plan that will fuel your workouts while allowing your body to recover.
(Check out her Macro program! It works!)
3. Do Your Dynamic Warm-Ups.
You probably know that you should stretch after you run, but did you know there’s a safe way to stretch and work on mobility before your workout? There is, and it’s called “dynamic warm-ups.” All that means is we’re stretching, but incorporating movement so we’re not just jumping into a run cold.
Check out these dynamic warm ups from Runner’s World.
4. Take Your Ding Dang Rest Days.
When I first started running, I felt like a failure if I didn’t do it every day. But when you’re training for a race, you learn pretty quickly that rest and recovery is, in fact, part of your training.
It’s easy to get excited and want to train 24/7, but it’s also easy to burn out and get injured that way. So slow down, take a day or two off, and enjoy yourself!
5. Don’t Neglect Your Cross-Training.
When I suffered from my second knee injury (I’ll never learn!), I actually went to physical therapy to correct and treat my issue. As it turned out, I was training my quads and calves plenty, but seriously neglecting my glutes and core, which are super important to keeping runners from common knee and hip injuries.
The solution? Weight training to get my glutes and core firing up during running. It may take the help of a certified trainer like Kristin to drill down into your own training deficits, but it’s worth the effort, I promise.
Now that you know some ways to prevent injury and keep running pain-free forever, I hope you’ll take it to heart. And if you don’t, you’ll at least know where to find some tips to get you back in action.