Do Sweat the Small Things
to prevent injury
By Bryce Thatcher
A few little things that may help prevent injury.
It is Spring which brings a lot of warmer weather and snow melt, forcing skiers to switch to alternative training methods, which for Cross Country Skiers means the beginning of running season or dry land training.
As a competitive collegiate ski racer, I remember this transition very well. I entered it having a huge heart and powerful lungs but lacking the bone structure to handle the pounding associated with running.
I ached for weeks as I transitioned. During this transition of seasons I developed a few simple tips that can help prevent injury. I have further honed and refined these over many years not just through years of competition as a ski racer in the winter but as a year round mountain runner. A few of these are simple and universal. Now, and during the past two years as a volunteer Track and Cross Country running coach for Desert Hills High School in St. George, Utah, these basic things have become more apparent than ever. With over 90 kids on the team, who tend to develop a wide range of problems, my focus is centered again on preventing injuries in the first place.
These suggestions are not all-inclusive and definitely not a substitute for a comprehensive training plan. For this, one should seek advice from amongst the many great coaches out there, or Trail and Ultra running athletes and mentors like Karl Meltzer and Krissy Moehl, both of which, I work closely with at UltrAspire.
Routine questions I ask of school aged runners when they come to me with aches and pains are the same each of us should ask ourselves as a part of our own training routine:
- How old are your shoes? (Or, perhaps, how many miles do you have on them?) I see a lot of terrific athletes running in shoes that may still look good from the outside surface, but are actually completely worn out for the purpose intended-giving adequate support between the ground surface and the bones and tissues of the feet. If there are foundation problems the effect will travel upward through the entire body. Depending on the style of shoe and bio-mechanic efficiencies of the runner and other factors, the number of miles available in a pair of shoes varies substantially. This is an especially difficult problem as shoes can be expensive for those of us who log a lot of miles and need new shoes more often. Red flags should fly if knees begin aching, or the shoes feel flat (like having a flat tire on a bike). Another sign is an increase in popping sounds coming from the knee area particularly when rising or sitting. These signals are probably all signs that the wearer has waited too long to don a new pair of shoes. Even if the shoes look good and appear to have a lot of tread, it's the foam cushioning that matters. If it has lost its effect, get a new pair of shoes! Shoes are so important that the second question is also about them.
2. Have you recently switched styles of shoes?
Often times we wait too long to buy a new pair of shoes and by they time we do, we instantly retire the old ones and transition into the new pair. This works fine if the shoes are the same brand, size and style as the old shoe; but, if most of you are like me, and like many of the kids on my team, we like to experiment hoping to find something that works even better--always seeking the holy-grail in shoes! This is fun and exciting but can also lead to injury. When we do get new shoes it is best to create a transition plan to the new pair of shoes. Because the huge variance in shape, amount of drop between the forefoot and rear foot, and flexibility all effect the way your body works with the new shoes, starting cold turkey into the new shoes often results in the body response of new aches and pains or even injury. I teach the kids to alternate between old and new shoes for a period of time to make sure that the body is given time to adapt. This may take time especially if the transition is drastic like going from a Hoka to a minimalist style shoe or the other way around. Shoes are made for varying terrain and those who run with different shoes on different terrain in the same week need to be extra mindful. Which leads to the next question.
3. What surface have you been running on?
As many of our injuries are stress or impact related, I suggest that runners spend a large portion of their training on trails with a soft surface. In fact, I explain it this way to our team going from hardest surface to softest surface. Cement or sidewalks being the worst, then pavement, then track surface, then trails then grass. When aches and pain occur in the bones and joints simply changing to a more forgiving surface for a while will decrease the amount of stress related injuries. The first year I coached we ran more than half our miles on road surface. That year we were plagued with shin splints and other stress related injuries including stress fractures. As a comparison, our second season, we increased miles trained by the whole team, but spent 90% of these miles on trails. Injuries were almost non-existent. Be aware of your running surface and choose the softer option when available even if it is less convenient and requires driving to get to a suitable location.
4. Have you adequately stretched and used effective foam rolling?
Another thing that may seem insignificant, but is one of the most effective means of staying healthy, involves stretching and foam rolling. I am a real advocate of both disciplines. We teach our kids to stretch well AFTER each workout. We have a good routine of stretching that follows some simple core strength exercises that are done daily. I also suggest that the athletes foam roll at least 3 times per week. This is what I call the poor man's massage, but it is also so convenient, it can be accomplished without assistance on a daily basis. If my muscles do get tight I first foam roll and self massage the area, then if I am not successful myself, then I will seek a deep tissue massage from a therapist who understands runners and the areas that need to be worked and why. This is much different than what I refer to as a "fluff and puff" massage provided by most massage therapy locations. These feel good and serve beneficial purposes, but not adequate to keep an athlete training without down time.
5. Do you pay attention to your own unique needs?
After asking the above questions and learning from the answers, what is the next step? On our cross-country team I have runners that may be incapacitated quite literally from a "broken toe nail" on the one extreme, to others who never complain about anything and who may admit they have a problem only after someone else recognizes that their stride or something else is off. Everyone is unique and each runner must be mindful of even small changes to comfort levels, sources of pain and other issues, evaluate potential benefit in cross training with alternative exercises like pool running or biking, or whether it is time to see a doctor to assist in the quest for a more enjoyable running experience with optimal performance.
I love working with young runners. They are like sponges and absorb the information that is given them. Those runners on our team that take these simple steps to heart and do them PREVENTATIVELY on a routine basis are the runners who consistently perform the best and stay uninjured. I am proud to say that the Desert Hills High School Cross Country team seized the 2013 Utah 3A State Championship title. It is very rewarding to be a part of such accomplishment-even when it all came by about just by helping to implement the small things that all come together to make an enormous difference in the long run.
Bryce
Bryce Thatcher, innovator and inventor of hydration "packs", is a dedicated adventure and endurance athlete whose record ascent/descent of the Grand Teton of 3:06 stood for nearly 30 years. In 1986, he founded Ultimate Direction, which has become the market leader for the ultra-endurance athlete market. He later sold this business to Sierra Designs of American Recreational Products where he worked and continued to design all hydration until 2003. He also, co-founded Elite Creators, LLC. Which began to market Medical packs in 2002. In 2004, he went to work with Penguin Brands, Inc., and Nathan Sports Products, where he re-engineered the entire hydration line and continued to innovate the growth of Nathan hydration packs until 2010 with designs that continue to be marketed by Nathan. Because Bryce is an athlete and has always worked with athletes, he has a special expertise in bringing solutions to athletes everywhere.
Thatcher has worn his own packs for many of his own adventures: as a two-time All-American cross-country skier; while participating in an MSOQ adventure race in Lijiang, China; while pioneering "fast packing" on a record-setting run of Highline Trail in Wyoming's Wind River Range; while making a record sub-9 hour self-supported solo ride of Utah's, 103 mile White Rim Trail and in winning Idaho and Utah State Cycling Time Trial titles. He is an avid mountaineer and trail runner.
Bryce will always aspire to be an extreme endurance athlete. Not only because he loves pushing his limits but also because he feels it is key to keeping up with the evolving needs of the athlete and in furthering innovation and design. His ideas come to him in practice and develop intuitively from concept through marketing, in practice.
Check out his UltrAspire products at ultraspire.com/products
