New seaon and runners are thinking about … running! I thought I would put some suggestions to help plan your training for the year. This is simply about enjoying the sport and staying injury free – perhaps not this season or even next but protecting your wellbeing into the future.

Of all elite Triathlete injuries 90% are from running as it is hugely aggressive to the body – so you need to be smart when training. Here are some rules to follow:

1. Don’t train in the grey zone – i.e. threshold. Either run easy (80% of time in aerobic zone) or hard (longer high threshold to short anaerobic efforts). You will be surprised at just how easy – and how hard – these are. HRM recommended. (we will give some HRM advice later in the month)

2. Don’t be one paced. Going out day after day running at the same pace (however slow) is crippling. Vary your training – put in sessions for efforts (20% hard remember) or put in small efforts like picking it up between lampposts. This is particularly important for marathon training. Vary the distances and pacing and don’t forget to put in efforts. Grinding out lots of slow steady miles = injury.

3. 40% of your training should not be running – swim, cycle, do gym classes, walk the dog quickly, play badminton – anything to keep fit which isn’t running. It all helps with your running – unfortunately running doesn’t particularly help the other sports!

4. Do 5-10 mins strength and conditioning each day – we all talk about it but who does it? There are some great apps or YouTube videos which show you what to do and time you – so no excuses!.

5. Plan in a break – you can’t train 52 weeks per year – plan a minimum of a month off at a point in your season for the body and mind to fully recover.

For those runners who are or have been injured I bet if you look back you can recognise that some (or all!) of the above have not been done.  You are not alone!

No matter what standard you run at if you train badly you will break down with injury – which is frustrating, expensive and inconvenient. My thoughts for you to accept or not. If you want more background on any of these then happy to provide.