“Slow and steady wins the race.”
-Aesop
Trees are popping, flowers are blossoming, and birds are singing, celebrating the longer and warmer days. Everyone is emerging from hibernation mode for outdoor activities, with many working on fitness goals. Young and old are dusting off their running shoes and hitting the tracks and trails. Unfortunately, this is when we start to see more running related injuries; runner’s knee, hip bursitis, iliotibial band syndrome, and heel pain to name a few. Getting out there and going for the gusto may not be the best approach, but rather to ease back in, “slow and steady”. Just like any other activity, it’s critical to give your body a chance to acclimate for the demands you place on it. Running places several times your body weight through your joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments with every stride. Training plans are plentiful online, but not tailored to your unique capacity and goals.
Avoid running every day at first. Give our body a chance to acclimate to the new stress of running and have adequate rest to recover. Begin 2–3 times per week with at least 48 hours of rest between runs to allow your body a chance to recover and adapt. With each run, you’ll notice that the initial difficulty or soreness will decrease. Rather than focusing on mileage, think about time versus distance with an incremental run:walk ratio. A novice may start with a 2 minute run followed by a 1 minute walk to recover. Progress the run part while keeping the rest part the same (3:1, 4:1 and eventually you may not need to walk at all).
Slow and steady is important because the cardiovascular system is going to adapt before skeletal muscles do. Although you may feel like pushing more, your body might not be physically ready for the stress and contribute to a running related injury. Incorporating strength and neuromuscular training will help you ramp up your running safely. Stronger muscles and dynamic stability throughout the entire kinetic chain will help absorb and attenuate the forces placed on our body.
If your experiencing pain, try to decrease your impact forces by running lighter and with a slightly faster cadence.
Slow and steady may win the race, yet fast and light will help you find your happy pace. Your body will thank you!