We just closed another cross country season and my 5th daughter’s accomplishments for this year made me very proud. She made personal records every week except for one” and had a successful season over all. It was great to watch her out there working hard and having a fabulous time. The weight she lost was a plus for her and she’s enjoying smaller jeans as a result. However just as I’d expect the season didn’t end without some running injuries.
This is my 5th girl of 6 that’s been on the cross country team and I’ve been a runner for 30 years. The reasons my daughters get running injuries is for a few reasons maybe in different sequences depending on what my cross runner is doing as she runs. The same goes for myself when I practice poor running techniques.
Overuse
This became my own problem as I aged being a veteran runner. I thought I could increase my mileage and run longer and faster even though my body had aged. Increasing my training agenda ebbed and flowed back and forth as I ran depending on whether I was involved in a race or perhaps just wanted to lower my stress level. When I was younger that didn’t matter however aging is a different story. I can no longer over do running…ever.
Inconsistent Training
My 3rd daughter was notorious for this during her bout as a cross country runner. When she first began her cross career she was on fire for the sport. Then she would go through periods where she would slack off not run much at all then try to make up for it all a day or two before the race. Bad idea. Looking back at it I can’t believe she made it through the cross season at all that year. In the years following she was much better from the experience and became more consistent in her training schedule.
Hard Workouts with No Break
Hard workouts are certainly the way to increase stamina and endurance however if that’s all your doing without some light workouts in between you’ve got a recipe for an injury of some kind. Always have a solid plan of some light workouts in between your tough ones to avoid a setback with an injury.
Running on Uneven Surfaces
Running on street sides is also asking for injury. This is due to the grading downward of the street which is designed to run water off of the center. For this reason your outside foot will pronate or roll inward while the inside foot will roll outward (supinate). Do your best to seek out the flattest surfaces you can to minimize your chance of injury.
