At the time of writing this, my area has been experiencing some crazy weather andI thought an article about how to run without injury would be appropriate.
The year started off hot…the temp shot up 20 degrees seemingly overnight, and has been around 80 degrees in the early mornings. Those were some tough outings. Then the rain storms came in. There was some reprieve from the hot weather, but soon to follow was the awful humidity…felt like I was living in Houston, TX.
During these dramatic, climatic days, many struggled and had some injuries crop up. The question was asked…how can I keep up my pace and run without injury? For this article, I’m going to address the most common injuries of runners, like sprained ankles, shin splints, hamstring problems, etc.
Okay, I’m sure many of you reading this now probably ask…what does hot weather have to do with injuries? The answer may be, everything. When it is hot, you have an initial tendency to try picking it up and matching your previous pace. This usually means fatigue will settle in much quicker. At that point, not only does your body and muscles cramp and become fatigued, so does your mind. Soon, you start paying less attention to your your every stride and next thing you know, you’re spraining an ankle.
So the question still remains…how to run without getting injured? I have been lucky to have had little injuries in my fifteen years of running and I attribute that to proper training and footwear. The simple answer is to go with the flow…don’t push the pace, run what you can. There are some of you, experienced and beginners alike, that will try to keep the pace, but I have learned that is not the best approach.; live to run hard another day. Though each week builds on the previous week, you cannot control mother nature, so temper your pace, and pick it back up in the weeks to follow.
Lastly, I would like to talk a bit more about proper footwear. Shin splits are common among those who hold out on getting new shoes. Yes, they can be expensive, though I would guess if you are serious about training for some event, you have probably sacrificed some time out on the town, or something else that cost you money at the time, so save your pennies and buy shoes before you get injured. That is the easiest advice I could ever give. Running shoes is the best investment you can make.
