That’s right, there are a few simple rules of thumb that will keep you on the road.
1) It starts with your foot wear, do not run on old broken down shoes. I recommend you replace your shoes every 300 miles of running or so. This is what I try to do. Obviously, if you are built like a lineman and not an olympic marathoner, you need to do this more often. The math is simple: 20 miles/week times 4 weeks equals 80 miles. 300 miles divided by 80 is roughly 4 months before you have to change shoes.
2) Warm up slowly…then stretch. You don’t want to stretch cold muscles. Walk then jog easily for 10 minutes first.
3) Stretch after running, 5-10 minutes to work the kinks out should be fine.
4) Make sure you vary the terrain you run on. If you run predominately on concrete and you are always sore, this is why. Find a park with grass or wood-chip trails to do some of your running on.
These are just a few rules of thumb, and they are very simple to follow. Remember running should not be a pain!
Tags: injury prevention, running