This is a public service announcement.
I always hear non-runners, some sedentary, some cyclists or swimmers, saying that they can't run because "insert statement here about a bad piece of anatomy".
I think that in 95% of these cases these people have not attempted to adopt a running program in the proper way.
Before I go any further I want to go on record as saying that for people with a serious existing injury or degenerative disease that persistence won't pay off in your case. If you have a specific diagnosis or medical advice, don't follow my suggestions.
We have all heard that contrary to intuition, triathletes experience running injuries as often or more often than runners (here 'runners' means someone that focuses only on the sport of running).
The reason for this is simple. By running every day, runners adapt to the stresses of running far more readily than a triathlete does. Running is all about physical adaptations to the specific stresses of running.
Change your mindset about running and stop considering your running 'limiter' to be your cardiovascular or muscular endurance. First and foremost it's the ability of your bones and connective tissue to endure the impact.
What worked for you when you were 16 years old and joining the track team doesn't work for you later in life when you are probably heavier and have far less growth hormone coursing through your body. And besides this, many high school and college running programs have a 25-50% injury rate each season!
When I returned to triathlon (and running) about 5 years ago I began to experience a string of running injuries one after another. They all occurred before I even exceeded 15 miles per week and affected me nearly continuously for 4 years.
There were shin splints (repeatedly), plantar's fasciitis, aching knees, a serious run of SI joint dysfunction (2 years!), torn calf muscle, finally culminating in a torn plantar's fascia that resulted in a whole season of racing but no run training.
When I began to return to run training once again here's the approach I took:
5 minutes of running on a treadmill 3 days per week. I did this for 3+ months. I then moved to the next phase which was 10 minutes at a time. Phase 3 was adding 5 minutes on the other 2 weekdays between the 10 minute days.
Right now I am 1 year in to my VERY gradual build and I'm doing alternating 2/5 mile runs on weekdays with a Sunday run also. I'm still building and will be for 1-2 more years.
The big breakthrough is that now after a 5 mile run in the morning I feel like I could go for a second run in the afternoon. The next morning when I get out of bed I don't feel any of that leg tenderness that I've been plagued with the next morning for 5 years.
I attribute this to 2 things:
1) allowing my build to be VERY gradual knowing it was all about conditioning the body to the trauma, not for the cardio benefits.
2) running 6 days per week.
In regard to your running you need to change your mindset. You aren't training to be a killer runner next season, but 3-4 seasons from now. Your best friend is being injury free so you can run every day. Even 3 miles per day every day for 3 years will have you racing faster than going from 50 mile weeks with speed work to 3 months injured over and over again.
The body adapts when it receives a stressor that exceeds it's current adaptation level. This is why those extremely long weekend rides are important for Ironman. it's why those long weekend runs are so valuable for marathon.
If you were immune to injury then running 3 days per week with a 20 miler on the weekend would be a great way to train for triathlon, but it's a recipe for injury unless you are starting out as an avid single-sport marathoner already.
So my advice for you is simply this:
1) if you are 'fragile' then take a far longer view of your run training and start with something that seems pointless: 5 minute runs. (or whatever amount you KNOW is easy on your body)
2) Run 6 days per week. Fit this in to your current routine by adding 5 minutes of running either after your bike or after your swim on the days you don't normally run. This extra 5 minutes on off days should be easy because it's only 5 minutes. And doing it after the swim or bike? That's because you are already warmed up and I think that our bodies are a bit like car engines. In a car engine 90% of the wear the engine experiences is during the first few seconds after a cold start. I think that much of the trauma our bodies experience when running is the first mile and that is largely mitigated by never starting a run cold.
3) When it's time to add intensity (perhaps a YEAR in to a daily running regimen?--Remember this is talking to those prone to injury), then I suggest adding the intense running in the same way you added slow running...some ridiculously small amount initially....like 5 100 yard stride outs...then eventually becoming 5 minutes of speed/tempo placed in to a regular training run and over the course of many months you will ONLY THEN be ready to do a 'typical' speed workout seen in many training plans.
Hopefully when BarryP reads this he will agree! ;)
Jeff.
I always hear non-runners, some sedentary, some cyclists or swimmers, saying that they can't run because "insert statement here about a bad piece of anatomy".
I think that in 95% of these cases these people have not attempted to adopt a running program in the proper way.
Before I go any further I want to go on record as saying that for people with a serious existing injury or degenerative disease that persistence won't pay off in your case. If you have a specific diagnosis or medical advice, don't follow my suggestions.
We have all heard that contrary to intuition, triathletes experience running injuries as often or more often than runners (here 'runners' means someone that focuses only on the sport of running).
The reason for this is simple. By running every day, runners adapt to the stresses of running far more readily than a triathlete does. Running is all about physical adaptations to the specific stresses of running.
Change your mindset about running and stop considering your running 'limiter' to be your cardiovascular or muscular endurance. First and foremost it's the ability of your bones and connective tissue to endure the impact.
What worked for you when you were 16 years old and joining the track team doesn't work for you later in life when you are probably heavier and have far less growth hormone coursing through your body. And besides this, many high school and college running programs have a 25-50% injury rate each season!
When I returned to triathlon (and running) about 5 years ago I began to experience a string of running injuries one after another. They all occurred before I even exceeded 15 miles per week and affected me nearly continuously for 4 years.
There were shin splints (repeatedly), plantar's fasciitis, aching knees, a serious run of SI joint dysfunction (2 years!), torn calf muscle, finally culminating in a torn plantar's fascia that resulted in a whole season of racing but no run training.
When I began to return to run training once again here's the approach I took:
5 minutes of running on a treadmill 3 days per week. I did this for 3+ months. I then moved to the next phase which was 10 minutes at a time. Phase 3 was adding 5 minutes on the other 2 weekdays between the 10 minute days.
Right now I am 1 year in to my VERY gradual build and I'm doing alternating 2/5 mile runs on weekdays with a Sunday run also. I'm still building and will be for 1-2 more years.
The big breakthrough is that now after a 5 mile run in the morning I feel like I could go for a second run in the afternoon. The next morning when I get out of bed I don't feel any of that leg tenderness that I've been plagued with the next morning for 5 years.
I attribute this to 2 things:
1) allowing my build to be VERY gradual knowing it was all about conditioning the body to the trauma, not for the cardio benefits.
2) running 6 days per week.
In regard to your running you need to change your mindset. You aren't training to be a killer runner next season, but 3-4 seasons from now. Your best friend is being injury free so you can run every day. Even 3 miles per day every day for 3 years will have you racing faster than going from 50 mile weeks with speed work to 3 months injured over and over again.
The body adapts when it receives a stressor that exceeds it's current adaptation level. This is why those extremely long weekend rides are important for Ironman. it's why those long weekend runs are so valuable for marathon.
If you were immune to injury then running 3 days per week with a 20 miler on the weekend would be a great way to train for triathlon, but it's a recipe for injury unless you are starting out as an avid single-sport marathoner already.
So my advice for you is simply this:
1) if you are 'fragile' then take a far longer view of your run training and start with something that seems pointless: 5 minute runs. (or whatever amount you KNOW is easy on your body)
2) Run 6 days per week. Fit this in to your current routine by adding 5 minutes of running either after your bike or after your swim on the days you don't normally run. This extra 5 minutes on off days should be easy because it's only 5 minutes. And doing it after the swim or bike? That's because you are already warmed up and I think that our bodies are a bit like car engines. In a car engine 90% of the wear the engine experiences is during the first few seconds after a cold start. I think that much of the trauma our bodies experience when running is the first mile and that is largely mitigated by never starting a run cold.
3) When it's time to add intensity (perhaps a YEAR in to a daily running regimen?--Remember this is talking to those prone to injury), then I suggest adding the intense running in the same way you added slow running...some ridiculously small amount initially....like 5 100 yard stride outs...then eventually becoming 5 minutes of speed/tempo placed in to a regular training run and over the course of many months you will ONLY THEN be ready to do a 'typical' speed workout seen in many training plans.
Hopefully when BarryP reads this he will agree! ;)
Jeff.