From Road to Trail and Back Again
Its Autumn and time that we set our running and exercise goals for next season. Wether it is a 5km/10km/1/2 or full marathon that we are training for, the training load placed upon the body can be damaging.
Setting the Scene
As we know running is an activity of repetitive nature, so 50% of the time the left or the right leg is being loaded. SO, If your running cadence is 180 strides per minute, then you would be doing a great number of repetitions/leg/minute.
15 mins – 1350 repetitions
20 mins – 1800 repetitions
30 mins – 2700 repetitions
60 mins – 5400 repetitions
If we were to go to the gym, then we may do up to 20-30 repetitions before changing exercise.
Constantly running on roads and landing the same way step after step, can be damaging, if you look at the accumulative effect of sheer numbers that we have just discussed. So, breaking up this accumulative loading can be done by taking yourself off into the trails that surround your running routes. The positive effects of which are numerous
Benefits
- Reduction of impact – take away the mechanical stress from the pounding on hard pavements and roads. Less impact means less energy required to absorb it.
- Increased stimulus to your running stability muscles – With the trails being a little uneven, the need to stabilise the joints and body is increased, overall making us a stronger runner.
- Requires more directional changes and lateral movement – The more that we can challenge the body the better. If we only ever ran in a straight line then, then we are only stable in that movement. Challenge the outside of the commonly accepted norm and we limit our potential.
- Altered foot strike patterns – Both foot strike and stride length may vary as much as every stride. The benefits of which are enormous and all come back to the ‘I must protect myself’ mantra.
Think of trail running as a circuit training session with a specific, targeted and functional outcome.
Trail Run exercises
- Fast feet
- Lateral hops
- Lunges
- Core stability
- Leg Strength
- Leg Speed
- Leg Power
…… to name but a few
So many times we get the longer distance endurance athlete in the clinic that elude to the reason for injury was the half or full marathon event. When really it wasn’t the event but intact the training load that preceded it. We must be ‘smart’ with our training, with the number one priority being ‘Injury Prevention’.
Footwear
Recently the weather has turned the sun baked trails into something less desirable. A traditional road running shoe may not cut it out there and you may want to consider looking at getting a trail shoe that has a great grip, but must duplicate the function of your road shoe.
So take time to ponder on the virtues of trail running for prevention, preparation and performance.
‘train SMART, train effectively & stay injury free’
Trail Training the way forward
Categories
- News
February 21st, 2020 Why Physiotherapy is essential to training injury free – by New DP Ambassador Sam Barley! October 18th, 2019 Check out our great Run Prep Package!!! September 25th, 2019 Christmas is coming again!! Have you bought your presents yet? August 6th, 2019 Client Corner! A Tale of DC Client Camaraderie by client Anna Troup! July 6th, 2019 DC Client James in the 3 week countdown to Ironman Hamburg!
- Events
- Articles
Running Event Preparation
With January over, the runners amongst us are busily preparing for their own event (Reading Half Marathon, London Marathon, even your local Park Run!……) And we must not forget the huge number of triathletes that as well as running, have the joy of adding a swim and bike into the training plan. All of us that compete though have the same goal……. to finish.
Running with Shin PainRunning has become a popular pastime in the UK with the evolution of large city marathons and charity fun runs making endurance exercise a realistic and achievable target for both novice and experienced runners. With an increase in running participation, however, there has been a subsequent increase in running injuries.
Strength for Running to Make Running Your StrengthMost of the runners we see at Drummond Clinic spend as much time as they can running. In the majority of these people, doing less running could actually mean more!