DCM 2017 Graduates: Onwards and upwards!

Kellygirl wrote: »

Back Carb Loading again - decided I’m going to go for the full in Clon. Just finished creating a paceband for 4:30 to keep me in check and will go slower if needs be. Just doing it for pure enjoyment and fun. Found two friends to run it with too. We are starting with the early group at 8am.

Trying to decide what to wear. Weather looking good - 6 degrees, no rain and little wind but it’s very exposed and along the coast and high points. Normally for 6 degrees I would just wear a long sleeved top but wondering if I need gloves and a neck buff. Any thoughts? Wearing full length leggings.

Maybe pick up a cheap pair of gloves that you are willing to throw away KG. I'd say you'll warm up fairly quickly but they might help in the first few miles when it's a bit chillier. Might be down there myself at the weekend as a mate of mine is running. I'd give you cheer but I've no idea what you look like:pac:

I kind of want to talk about this as a lot of you guys seem to having issues with reoccurring injuries/Niggles at the minute.

Firstly, I think it's important to realise why they happen. As a lot of people here are newer to running/physical activity or haven't done so in years. Structurely, you're body is going to be weak and underprepared for the rigours of road running. Running is a high impact sport and this can cause issues when there is weaknesses or lack of flexibility issues in our bodies. The issue with this is that our fitness increases rapidly in contrast to our muscles and tendons which take much longer to adapt to the stress of running than our lungs and heart.

So while the capacity to run faster and longer improves quickly, the muscles and tendons lag behind and this leads to what are called overuse injuries which are very common for all runners but especially newer runners who haven't had the years of adaption that training brings. A few examples of overuse injuries would be all the typical ones you hear of like IT band, runners knee, piriformis issues etc etc.

The term overuse itself should be self explanatory i.e too much, too soon. The best way to avoid these type of injuries is through S&C, flexibility drills and a gradual build-up of mileage. You are only as strong as your weakest link so while your cardiovascular strength might be excellent and you feel you could run 80 miles a week, it's not much good if your body can only handle 20 miles a week without getting injured and that needs to be considered when you decide how much training you can do. Ideally, you want to slowly build up this weak point so you can increase the volume of training you can do.

That's prevention but we also need to look at rehab as well when you do get injured. The same applies here regarding S&C and flexibility but rest plays a very important role in this. When you are injured, rest is hugely important in recovery as you have to give your body a chance to recover. If you don't, you are only prolonging injuries which will limit your training or make the injury worse until you start to address the problem. Injuries are hugely frustrating and the R word is not something runners like to hear but they are a part of the sport and how you manage them will go a long way to determining how successful you will be. It might hurt to have to take time off in the short term but it is nearly always the right decision in the long-term. You have to be as proactive in managing your recovery from injuries/niggles as you are towards your training to get the most out of your running.

If you are struggling with an overuse injury, you will definitely have to pull the plug on races/workouts and dial back mileage or take complete rest if nessacary. Would you still like to be feeling like you are during an injury right now in 6 months without managing it or back on the road niggle free in a month if you do address it?