These are the top three training errors that runners are making:
This past weekend, I participated as a vendor at the Brentwood Run, a 5k, 10k, and 1k kids race. As a vendor in a race, I provided treatment and education to runners and their supporters, led a dynamic warmup, Richard Simmons style (I’m only kind of kidding). I love treating at a race because I get to chat with so many runners (and their supporters) from all over the world (shoutout to the couple I met from Nova Scotia this weekend) and glean information about how people are training. These are the three things I learned from the Brentwood Run this weekend:
- The majority of runners don’t warm up. That’s right, most runners do a few kicks forward and backward then head out for the run. The warmup is crucial for the run because it increases blood flow to your muscles and activates the muscles that you use during your run. It also increases ankle and hip mobility so that you can take more efficient strides and reduces risk of injury. After the race, I received great feedback that the dynamic warmup helped people feel stronger and more confident during the race. You can find a link to my dynamic warm up here.
- Most runners don’t strength train. I get it, if you love to run outside, going into a gym to strength train can sound about as appealing as watching paint dry. But strength training your core, hips, quads, hamstrings, and calf muscles helps to reduce risk of injury and increase your run speed so that you can run faster with less effort. I’ve personally seen the benefits of this, as I ran the fastest 10k of my thirties in April. Over the past two years, I have challenged myself by gradually increasing weight in my strength workouts. Be on the look out for a post about strength training exercises for runners soon!
- Most runners are running injured. Repeat after me, running with pain is ABNORMAL. “No pain, no gain” does not serve you here. Pain is a warning sign that your tissues are irritated and are not able to tolerate increased stress or load, at this time. Ignoring your pain and pushing through the pain can exacerbate your symptoms and worsen your injury. If you have pain with running, schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with me
So go ahead, try that dynamic warmup out before your next run and let me know how you felt during the run.
Book a free 15-minute discovery with me today!