General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Slowly increase mileage to avoid injury? Rss Feed  
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2009-03-07 7:20 AM

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Greer, SC
Subject: Slowly increase mileage to avoid injury?

I started my tri training back in September with a pretty solid sports background ~ I was playing ice hockey several days per week.  I had a swimming background, so I knew that would come pretty easy.  I started cycling as a mountain biker, but had absolutely no running experience.  My training was going really well for the first four months.  I had really been getting my miles up running and able to swim two miles comfortably.  I purchased a trainer to get me used to the cycling side.  The next thing I know, I did my first ten mile run.  My legs were sore the next day, but had no ill effects other than sore quads.  Other than sore, tired lats, my swim was great too.  My bike was on it's way.  After that run, I had a bunch of people tell me I was going way too fast and too long for the short time I had been training.  So, knowing very little about tri training, I backed way off my pace and distances.  My long runs now are in the six mile range, but slowly climbing. 

Here is my issue~  Since I have backed way off, I have had to deal with all kinds of small, but sometimes painful injuries ~ mainly IT Band and achilles tendonitis.  I had no ounce of pain when I was running before and now that I have backed off my pace and distances these occur.   My training amount (days per week) has remained the same.  So, should I have listened to what people were saying or just have kept progressing?  The only thing I can think is that maybe I did some kind of damage to start this whole injury process during the longer distances and they are showing up now.  Any ideas, thoughts?



2009-03-07 8:38 AM
in reply to: #2003424

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Subject: RE: Slowly increase mileage to avoid injury?

My recent experience:

When I first started marathon training I bumped up my mileage real quickly. I went from 20 mpw to 30-40 mpw in two weeks. I felt relatively fine at about 37 mpw for about a month.  All of a sudden my hip started to tighten up and I couldn't run for a week.

 After learning for myself what I should have learned from everyone else's advice I've started to put the miles back on a little slower. I have that nagging voice in the back of my head that tells me to go faster but that week of no running sucked.

2009-03-07 10:03 AM
in reply to: #2003424

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Subject: RE: Slowly increase mileage to avoid injury?

Running, at least for me, seems like a never-ending series of adjustments and reactions to injuries and aggravations.  For most people, building up really slowly is a good idea.  I'm guessing that you'd experience the same issues with the heavier training that you were doing previously, but there's no real was of knowing for sure.  Keep experimenting and go with what works for you.  Not everyone is built the same. 

What I would recommend is to respond quickly when you begin to experience some pain.  Back off, figure out what can remedy it (like the foam rollers for your IT Band), get it resolved, and don't let your guard down for that issue again in the future.  It's easy to stop doing preventative measure such as plenty of stretching once you are feeling 100%, then you get nailed all over again.  Good luck !!

2009-03-07 12:53 PM
in reply to: #2003424

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Subject: RE: Slowly increase mileage to avoid injury?
One thing to consider is not just mileage, but the issue of balancing cross training at high mileage. One thing that I've encountered, my wife has encountered, and other posters here have commented on from time-to-time is that doing a 10+ mile run on the weekends that isn't supported by enough run volume the rest of the week can lead to these sorts of nagging overuse injuries. Tri training does come with that issue attached to it.

I used to run 7 days a week, in the 35-42 mpw range. Never had a single injury. Once I started cross training, I dropped my run mileage to the 16-28 mpw range (depending on how long my weekend run is and whether or not I'm doing speedwork in a given week) to allow for swim and bike sessions and I started seeing overuse injuries: a bout of runner's knee, Achilles strain, arch strain, hamstring strain. Nothing major and I haven't changed my warmup, cool down, or stretching from when I was running fulltime--I just think my body has more trouble handling high effort runs now: 12 mile plus long runs and serious hill work, in particular. It's especially challenging to work in marathon training along with tri training (which I do)...I've found I have to be really careful to build my volume during the week along with the weekend long runs as I progress.
2009-03-07 1:04 PM
in reply to: #2003424

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Subject: RE: Slowly increase mileage to avoid injury?

What I'm finding as my training builds is that I'm not spending as much time stretching after runs and rides and that catches up with me.  If I make sure I take the time to stretch well after each workout, I have very few issues.

Also, last fall I decided to cut back running to only 3 days/week, but train hard those 3 days.  Bad idea.  I'm back to 5 days/week doing some easy runs in there and I'm seeing improvement without injury.

2009-03-07 1:28 PM
in reply to: #2003424

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Lethbridge, Alberta
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Subject: RE: Slowly increase mileage to avoid injury?
One thing you might look at ... Now that you're running slower paces, has your running form changed at all? Even small changes could start irritating something that wasn't stressed before.


2009-03-08 6:09 AM
in reply to: #2003424

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Subject: RE: Slowly increase mileage to avoid injury?

Micawber is on to something -- nothing irritates my IT band(s) more than a slow run. Constant pace changes = happy knees. Also, you may have a bike fit problem that only reveals itself on the run, especially seat height.

 

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