For runners, moderation is key
Julie Deardorff
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Health & Fitness
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The day after my first marathon, 17 years ago, I went running. My quadriceps were so sore that I had to walk backward down my New York apartment stairs to get outside, but I hardly cared; I was young, euphoric and hooked.
It wasn't just because running kept me feeling thin and fit. I loved the races, the people and the way a run could lift my mood. After a good workout, I was ready to take on the world.
I was also fairly addicted, because taking a day off - even if I'd run a marathon the day before - left me feeling irritable and edgy. So I kept running when my body was screaming for a break and eventually joined the chronically injured club.
More than 7 of 10 runners will get hurt over the course of a year, said Irene Davis, director of the University of Delaware's Running Injury Lab, just one reason runners can't seem to talk about anything else.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Most running injuries are preventable because they are overuse injuries caused by elementary training mistakes: running too far, too soon; racking up excessive mileage; doing too much interval work; and wearing the wrong type of footwear. I made all these mistakes and more.
I ate poorly, ran on concrete, never stretched or built core strength and had glaring muscle imbalances, including weak quadriceps and tight hamstrings, causing knee pain.
That saddled me with the three most common overuse injuries: tendinitis, muscle strains and stress fractures. And that was just the beginning. Running too much, I found, can damage nearly every part of your body, from your skin to your immune system.
In some ways, it's par for the course. A runner who hasn't had shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, iliotibial-band syndrome (pain on the outer thigh from the knee to the hip) or plantar fasciitis (inflamed fascia on the bottom of the foot) is like a cyclist who hasn't crashed: It's only a matter of time.
But not running (or exercising) can lead to problems as well.
It wasn't just because running kept me feeling thin and fit. I loved the races, the people and the way a run could lift my mood. After a good workout, I was ready to take on the world.
I was also fairly addicted, because taking a day off - even if I'd run a marathon the day before - left me feeling irritable and edgy. So I kept running when my body was screaming for a break and eventually joined the chronically injured club.
More than 7 of 10 runners will get hurt over the course of a year, said Irene Davis, director of the University of Delaware's Running Injury Lab, just one reason runners can't seem to talk about anything else.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Most running injuries are preventable because they are overuse injuries caused by elementary training mistakes: running too far, too soon; racking up excessive mileage; doing too much interval work; and wearing the wrong type of footwear. I made all these mistakes and more.
I ate poorly, ran on concrete, never stretched or built core strength and had glaring muscle imbalances, including weak quadriceps and tight hamstrings, causing knee pain.
That saddled me with the three most common overuse injuries: tendinitis, muscle strains and stress fractures. And that was just the beginning. Running too much, I found, can damage nearly every part of your body, from your skin to your immune system.
In some ways, it's par for the course. A runner who hasn't had shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, iliotibial-band syndrome (pain on the outer thigh from the knee to the hip) or plantar fasciitis (inflamed fascia on the bottom of the foot) is like a cyclist who hasn't crashed: It's only a matter of time.
But not running (or exercising) can lead to problems as well.
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