"The only way to avoid running injuries altogether is to avoid running altogether - an obviously flawed solution" - Runner's World
So, you new guys all seem to be off to a wonderful start to your delving into the world of endurance training getting ready for Mercedes. As your body tries to figure out what the heck you're doing, you're going to have some aches and pains here and there. Most of them are just the awards of training and will subside as your bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons start to strengthen. Most of them will be controlled with a little TLC in the form of ice, anti-inflammatories, and in some cases, rest.
First of all, ice - you need an ice pack in the form of one of those:
1) premade icepacks
2) a 2# bag of frozen peas
3)you can make your own pack with one part alcohol (use the cheap stuff, not the Jack Daniels) and three parts water. Put it in a ziplock bag, and then bag it in another ziplock to prevent it from leaking all over you and your couch. When you freeze it, it will stay flexible, and not frozen like....well....a block of ice.
4) Put dishwashing detergent in a Ziplock (see #3 instructions for preventing a super mess). Dollar Tree sells 32oz for...well, a dollar of course!
Put the ice on for 15 minutes. You can do this every hour, but 15 minutes is the magic time.
Then, if you want, you CAN take anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen (advil) or naproxyn (aleve) as directed on the package. This is a controversial area, but most running injuries are due to an overuse (inflammation), so an anti-inflammatory seems appropriate. The controvery lies in the fact that the early stage of healing IS INFLAMMATION, therefore, a growing feeling (the pendulum is always swinging) is to avoid anti-inflammatories with overuse injuries. However, if you decide to take them, I like naproxyn because you only take it twice a day instead of three. Now, here's the trick - take it as directed for 2-4 days. The meds don't know if you have a sore knee or a sore little finger, so only a small percentage actually goes to where you want it to go. You have to keep it pumping through your system to put the fire out (sorta like a sprinkler will eventually put the fire out). Remember, Tylenol (acetaminophen) is NOT an anti-inflammatory, it is a pain med. Do not take anti-inflammatories right before you go out to run or during the run - bad idea unless you like playing Russian Roulette with your kidneys. I've had good results at preventing soreness with Tylenol 8 Hour (which surprisingly is the EXACT SAME formula as Tylenol Arthritis - 650mg/tablet). But, if you have to rely on drugs to get through your runs, maybe you don't need to be running. But, I must admit that I certainly understand the mind of a runner and it seems that sometimes a decision is made without being bothered by that pesky intelligent thought process.
Finally comes the question of "Can I continue running?". The "Coach Al" rule of thumb is that if you can run without ANY limp, then it's OK. If you go down the road like you've got a tack in your shoe, then hang up the shoes for a couple of days and do some "active rest" - walking or some other form of aerobic crosstraining until the pain subsides. Don't get so hungup on the mileage thing. If you're crosstraining aerobically, then do these exercises for same amount of time that you would normally spend running. So, if you had a 5 mile run planned and you run 10 min/mile, then you would walk, swim, bike, etc. for 50 minutes, but try to keep the intensity (or heart rate) in the general ballpark that running would put you.
It's funny how all runners will say "Why does it have to hurt now that I'm getting in the groove of this endurance stuff?". Well, muchachos, it's because you've been stressing these tissues for many weeks and they're just asking for you to put some brakes on for a little bit. YOU STILL HAVE OVER 3 MONTHS TO GO!! If you get a little niggle or a knack, you don't necessarily have to stop cold, but going a little slower, avoiding hills and speed work, and just doing those daggum "common sense" things will usually help things straighten out.
Remember that everything is connected in what is called the Kinetic Chain. That's just fancy PT talk for the hip bone's connected to the knee bone...The knee bone's connected to the ankle bone...The ankle bone's connected to the foot bones. PT School was sooooo hard to remember all those lyrics!!!! Anyway, try to compensate for an ache in one place and this will most likely stress someplace else, and voila! You're then nursing a brand new injury or worse, TWO injuries. This training thing is a long road - slow and steady is the best course.
You have to pay attention to those little niggles so they don't become big knacks. Catching them early will ensure that we'll keep seeing each other on the roads - AL
If you have any comments or questions, please either leave it below in "comments", or email me. If you have any problems leaving a comment, be sure to let me know. I think I fixed the bug, but I love comments and I don't want to miss any!
"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"
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