Running is an incredibly efficient way to stay in shape and burn enormous amounts of calories within one activity. The only problem with a long running career is that somewhere along the way you are going to find yourself with an injury of some kind; this is just inevitable. There are 5 different running injuries that are the most common and we are going to go through each of them. It is important to understand each and every one of the most common injuries so you know how to treat them when they arise.

Top Running Injury Locations

1 Stress Fractures

These are by far the most common running injury and are an injury that each and every runner has experienced at one time or another. It will begin with the symptoms of a simple sore muscle but you will quickly discover your muscle pain is not disappearing. The longer it lingers the more likely it is a stress fracture. A stress facture is a small crack on the outer layer of your bone. The only cure for this type of running injury is to rest and take plenty of calcium through your diet to help heal the crack as quickly as possible. During this healing stage you will want to avoid drinking diet soft drinks as this will inhibit the calcium.

Would you like to boost your recovery time over the next 24 hours?

In a previous post I talked about the four major ways to boost recovery time.

In this article I break down each step with the exact ways that allow me to go from so sore I cant walk one day, to able to run the next. If you haven’t read the general guide on how to boost recovery time, please jump back and read it now.

This has been a great way for me to go from so sore I cant walk one day to doing a workout the next, the faster you recover/get stronger the faster you can rinse an repeat, getting better each cycle. This method continues to prove itself to me time and time again, the most recent time being just last friday as I prepped for a big Division 2 college track meet. The meet was a complete success for me and I give credit to the time and effort I’ve spent working on this muscle recovery method to get my legs back 100% before the races.

A Muscle Recovery Pyramid

Note: These methods are in order according to how constantly you should be doing them, not the order. This guide works best when all 4 steps are combined for a 24+ hour time period.

Soreness got you down? Learn the quickest methods to kill lactic acid.

Wether you are a competitive runner needing to get rid of muscle soreness for the next workout or the average runner just hating being sore here is a number of ways you can get rid of soreness NOW instead of LATER.

• Steroids-

  That one is a joke, but to be honest thats the best method. There is a small misconception that using steroids results in bigger muscles. However, steroids simply provide the body with a way to radically, unnaturally recover and rebuild itself. In this way an athlete can run themselves into the ground, yet via steroids be fully recovered the next day ready to make unnatural muscular gains again through rigorous work. Steroids are awful for your body, and your body should NEVER be sped up 4X its natural pace, never use steroids unless a specific medical condition requires you to.

• R.I-C.E-

  Rest Ice Compress Elevate is a household phrase in the athletic world for how to deal with a general injury. Minus the “C.E” will land you a base step to recovery from muscle soreness.

A lot of people swear by a certain type of shoe that they run in. A lot of people, though, do a specific kind of running. A soccer player would never wear track spikes, a football player would never wear Brooks and a runner would never wear converse.

Just like there are specific shoes for specific sports there are also specific shoes for specific runners.

New Balance

New balance has typically been known for their specialization in athletic shoes. However, a large part of their sales goes to runners who are more recreational runners than avid or competitive runners. My mother had a few pairs of New Balance and loved them. She would go on 3-5 mile runs every so often to stay in shape and keep active; they worked for her. New Balance might not be crafted for the elite runners but they are solid shoes featuring

Reading books and learning via word of mouth there are tons of suggested ways to stay hydrated; what to drink, how much, when, where, what temperature should the water be ect ect. Too many rules, in fact; for instance wikihow.com states that one should carry water with you everywhere, keep a glass of water next you you. In addition to this your suggested to wear a digital watch that beeps at the beginning of each hour (to make sure you remember to drink water of course) + a water purification system and more…

This is an introduction to a new way to go about getting hydrated that is much more custom fit per runner rather than a by-the-book, one size fits all philosophy.

The easiest way to find how much water you need is by staying away from the symptoms of dehydration. If you have no symptoms of dehydration, by default; you are perfectly hydrated. Here are the top things to watch for.

1. Feeling thirsty? Drink a little extra, the rule of thumb here is that if you are feeling thirsty you are already suffering from the first signs of dehydration. Some people get thirsty faster than others, hence some people dehydrate faster, whatever your case drink enough during the day so that you avoid being thirsty/ having dry mouth.
2. Cramping- This is much easier noticed in runners/athletes because lactic acid will flow much more freely and soreness will occur much more quickly. Athletes will notice more tightness in muscles and that it takes longer to get warmed up. People that run less, or less than they should will might still notice an overall muscular weakness or cramping in the arms and legs.
3. The urine check- believe it or not but this is actually one of the most efficient ways to check your dehydration level. I’m not going to go into great detail on this but on a 1 to 10 scale urine that is a dark yellow, has and oder and/or is painful during excretion is considered fully dehydrated (a 10). As one is less dehydrated pain will cease during urination and the odor and color will lessen until an optimum 1 level is reached. At a 1 level on this simple test urine should have no oder and should be clear as water or have an extremely light yellow tint. This is literally one of the most efficient and downright easiest ways to check your dehydration level.

Want a great way to improve running efficiency and prevent injuries?

Try working on your core strength. Improving core strength will let you to run for longer without suffering from fatigue and will also decrease your risk of suffering an injury. Improving the strength of your core muscles will involve some time and effort, but fortunately it does not require any heavy weight work.

I believe some core strength work should feature in ALL runner’s training programs. While core, is extremely important in fast sprints core also plays a large role in every runners progress.

But What Exactly is my “core”?

While not a text-book definition, your “core” is defined as your body from the waist up minus the arms. Most of your core muscles are found in the mid and lower back regions, mid and lower stomach regions and hip regions (mainly your hip abductors).

In more technical terms, the major muscles areas include:

• Internal and External Obliques
• Multifidus
• Erector Spinae
• Transversus Abdominis
• Diaphragm
• The Pelvic Floor muscles; and
• Rectus Abdominis

Here is a picture showing a few of your core muscles

A lot of people have interesting, even weird rituals when it comes to eating before a run.  I knew a runner who would chow down on a huge breakfast before her race as her race ritual. However, another runner couldn’t eat within 4hrs of her run without feeling nauseous and/or vomiting. It really comes down to what you are comfortable with in your stomach before that first step.

While this is true, ask yourself these questions:

What kind of run are you about to do?

If it is just a nice easy run, your stomach will be less likely to be disturbed as it digests its food and wont be bothered so much. However if your run is a pound-into-the-ground speed workout/race its needless to say your stomach wont be so appreciative.

What kind of food are you eating?

Light foods such as grains and fruits will be easier to digest while you run than lactose and meat products and bananas. Fruits tend to be able to be absorbed into the system easily and grains will absorb water and not slosh around as much.

On the other hand, lactose products are already hard on your digestive system and meats will sit in your stomach like a rock that grinds your stomach walls. I throw bananas in that mix because they take up to 12 hours to digest. Also, In the past before a major workout I ate two bananas at the same time I would eat any other meal before a workout. However, halfway through the workout it was VERY clear they were still in my stomach and utilizing a lot of blood for digestion. Bad idea.

Meet your goals without finding yourself hating each run…

Many runners believe in a mindset that the harder they work the better they get. Often times though, a competition this is not won through fitness alone. While under-working is usually not an issue for the competitive runner, too slow of a pace will leave the athlete with an inefficient surplus of energy. However, too quick a pace and a runner can “red line” by expending all of their energy dramatically reducing their performance during a race. Training throughout the season can be compared to the races a runner competes in. While it is vitally important to stay fit and train hard, the human body is only able to handle so much physical abuse. An athlete’s worst fear is burning out before they are done with their season. Runners’ burnout can be caused by mentally and physically overwhelming the body causing a figurative death to a runner’s season, training, ect.

Burnout often times starts in the mind

Losing a competitive race mentality during a runners season can break the will to compete. Many coaches and athletes believe that athletics is “90% mental and 10% physical.” While it is ideal to be rested and nourished before a run, a mentally tough runner can run personal bests in any condition. While mentally draining, many runners have run perfect races even while sleep deprived, hungry, dehydrated or in bad weather conditions. However, there is a mental capacity for how much stress the mind can take. Running in itself creates a vast amount of mental fatigue. Too many races built into a season can mentally burn the competitive drive out of a runner. To many races close together can from further issues as an athlete has no time to mentally calm down and relax before preparing for the next race. This constant need for a race mentality will eventually drain the enjoyment out of the running in itself. Over racing can cause a dip in race performance and cause a sense of dread, boredom and the unwillingness to push through the pain of a race. Just as over racing can deplete a runner’s competitiveness, overtraining can also cause an athlete to succumb to runner’s burnout. Running too much aerobic mileage or doing too many anaerobic speed workouts can put physical stress on the mind to the point it refuses to push the body further. Analogous to the effects of over racing, overtraining can make running a chore and create a danger for injury.

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Thanks, Warren Sanders