The Running Season Just Ended...What Now?
You just had the running season worth writing home to your grandparents about, old-school style using pen and paper. If you’re feeling extra you might even whip out some of that handy cursive writing you learned back in the 6th grade. You tell Grandma Anne and Grandpa Fred that your summer was like sailing in on an ocean breeze and your final race reached an athletic climax of epic proportions: no injuries, a clear mind, an open heart, and all grit. You thank Fred and Anne for their genetic contribution of physical prowess and for their stunning example, to a lowly millennial, of what it means to work hard.
Life. Is. Good.
Unfortunately, not all seasons end like this. And if they do happen, it’s not every year...or every other year, for that matter. Every season, of any sport, comes with a laundry list of small victories, big victories, tweaks, niggles, and lessons learned. What makes a difference from year to year is the ability to recognize what is within your control, and what is not. This is not unlike the Serenity Prayer:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.”
You don’t have to be religious to understand the value of these words. Knowing that some things are simply out of your control can truly release you from the burden of looking back in time in regret (depression) and the fear of what’s to come (anxiety). But what can you do now in the present?
If the betterment of yourself is something you desire, you must seek the situations that are likely to propel you face first into your goals. As a runner, this can include surrounding yourself with positive people, superior training partners, proper nutrition, a firm (yet forgiving) mattress, mental toughness training, routine bodywork, a great running coach, a great strength/rehab coach, correct footwear/gear, and so much more.
I am not here to discuss all these things, as this article would turn into a book. So, I’m going to stick to my area of expertise and share with you my knowledge of strength and rehab training as it relates to long distance running.
I often get confronted with distance runners who have a fear of strength training, and I believe it is partially due to the word “strength”. The strongest people I know are strongman competitors such as Eddie Hall and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (the Mountain from Game of Thrones). These are big, meaty human specimens that specialize in strength, as in the application of muscle mass and motor unit recruitment to lift heavy-ass-shit 1-3 times, to then sit their butts down on a bench and rest for 5-10 minutes, and repeat.
If I am pinned under a boulder, you bet I’m going to pick The Mountain over you (assuming you are a distance runner) to release me from my pebble prison, but I will send you to go fetch some help. Why? You have the perfect combination of slow-twitch muscle fibers that can withstand low-level exertional force over a long period of time coupled with the assumption that you have less mass than The Mountain. If you are 6’9” and 425 pounds then I apologize for the incorrect assumption, but perhaps endurance running isn’t the best match for you. Your skills need to match your purpose: The Mountain saves me from crush syndrome, you save me from bleeding out.
Just because The Mountain utilizes weights to make himself stronger doesn’t mean that you are excluded from this activity. It just means that you have to utilize weights that make sense for you and your sport. My running clients do not perform 300 pound deadlifts because, despite living in Colorado, I am not high when I put together their exercises. Unless they want to wrestle a bear on their trail runs, this skill is not necessary in their day-to-day training and will, in fact, be a detriment to their goal of becoming a better runner. Because of this misinterpretation of what strength training is, I now call it rehab-based training. I have done so to avoid confusing the athlete and, in turn, freaking out their running coaches.
Here is a common training method I continue to come across:
running + more running = better runner
That is, until you start experiencing repetitive stress conditions that can severely derail your running season, if not, career. Despite being socialized to think my female parts get in the way of doing math...let’s throw caution to the wind and do some more:
running + more running ≠ better runner
running + rehab-based exercise + bodywork (massage/chiropractic/acupuncture) + mental toughness training + community support = better runner
As you can see from this very complex math equation, weight training is just one of many supports that uphold the activity of running great distances. It is true that you must run to become a better runner, but running by itself can become problematic. Perhaps there are some people who can get away with running alone, but we aren’t all cut from the same cloth. I am fortunate in that I have a strong core, narrow hips, a sizeable rear end, and the most normal feet one can ask for. I also have psoriatic arthritis that presents in both ankles, knees, and my left wrist, all of which can become easily inflamed with certain activities. This makes me different from you and comes with its own set of challenges that cannot be ignored in the art of creating my own training program.
In the event that I have convinced you that weight training is a good idea, when is a good time to connect with a coach? The answer is right now, but the most ideal time to reach out is during the off-season. This gives the coach and athlete time to address any imbalances and weakness without having the pressure to perform for an imminent race. This rehabilitation phase can progress into the prevention phase, prevention phase into performance phase, and the cycle continues in a happy, choreographed dance that can continue throughout your running career.
The goal of this article is to hopefully dispel any negative associations the running community may have towards weight training. I want to eradicate this fear because I know first-hand how beneficial it can be both in injury prevention and performance enhancement. I encourage you to find a rehab/strength coach that is familiar with running and is skilled in the art of crafting workouts. Find yourself someone who plans ahead for your races, has the tools to help address your bodily issues (or make a good referral for more serious issues), and who is continuously seeking out knowledge and is growing within their profession. Do this, and you will be adding a pillar of support to your quest as a runner.
____________
Dr. Ellen Kindelsperger created The Chiro Lab to combine chiropractic care and fitness elements to better serve the people. She aims to be a guiding light back to health, function and performance to all who are interested in working together on this venture.