I have learned a lot of what not to do in my brief running experience... and precious little else. But here are my rules of running (applicable only to me!):
1. Speed work once a week, max. Any more than that = instant injury.
2. Drink a full glass of water before running to keep your stomach happy.
3. If you feel great, it's time to back off. Ramping up = instant injury.
4. Spend equal amounts of time strengthening as hard running.
5. If it hurts, stop.
6. See a doctor first.
7. If you're short on time, cut time off the run, not the pre- and post-run strength routines.
8. Dr. Jordan Metzel's Iron Strength workout will always, always, always, always result in an injury.
9. Strong runners have strong cores and glutes.
10. Even the tiniest nibble of food before a run creates a stomach nightmare.
Those are the rules I run by. What are your rules of running?
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graceful rules :)
ReplyDeleteCan I ask why the Dr. Metzel workout causes injury for you? Wondering...I've been thinking about following it. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know!!! In theory, it's a great workout - challenging, targeted for runners. But in reality, I will do it once, and immediately get injured.
DeleteThanks. May give it a try and keep my fingers crossed.
DeleteI have definitely learned not to trust the "I feel great!" impulse after just a couple of weeks of higher mileage. I've learned that the stress is cumulative & takes a few weeks to catch up. Likewise, don't skip the scheduled cutback week just because I feel good -- it's there for a reason.
ReplyDeleteI think these are pretty close to several of mine. I also include: no races w/in 4 weeks of a marathon (injury!); no races until my base is fully built (injury!) and less is sometimes more.
ReplyDeleteSome of those rules apply to me too. Especially the feeling great and backing off one. It's odd how close I can be to a running crisis when I'm feeling really good.
ReplyDeleteI think those are spot-on Grace. But does the "no food" rule only apply to training and short races? I just don't know how you'd have enough energy for a longer race with that practice, but maybe it works for you.
ReplyDeleteI even struggle in races. My stomach does NOT like food - and actually it often promotes insulin release, causing a low blood sugar crash while racing. For long runs, I actually started to go out on an empty stomach and just do Gu while running; for marathons, I'd try to get up really early and eat oatmeal so it had some time to digest but really, I could never get any down! I'd manage a bite or two, and that would be it.
ReplyDeleteSome of those rules definitely apply to me - like the one about strong core and glutes, something i need to work on.
ReplyDeleteWhat's your normal fuelling routine? I wonder if you could introduce a tiny bit of easy-to-digest food before your regular runs to kind of wean your body onto it so you don't crash in longer races.