All the talk about not overdoing it makes me wonder ... I'm just doing my daily each way commute and finding myself near the top of this challenge at the moment (I'll slip back at the weekend because I don' t run, only swim at the weekend) but the talk is sensitizing me to the fact that perhaps I'm exposing myself to a risk that I'm unaware of.
Since I've never suffered a running injury (crosses fingers, touches wood, and sings a short mildly risqué sea shanty), I'm worried if my ignorance is making me too complacent about the risks. I've been focussing almost exclusively on building frequency over the last couple of years since I started running regularly. And with rare exceptions, I'm still doing one of my variations on the same 5.5km-ish commute between home and office. As my frequency approaches doing that consistently each way every single day, I find myself more often contemplating the need to focus elsewhere ... on upping the distance, the speed or trying another sport.
Where do folks find the greatest risks of running injury? Is it during competitions (I've only entered one race), or training? Is it with greater speed or distance, or is it usually due to "other" distractions ... for example: I ran into a chain strung across the entrance to a field at the end of road in the dark a couple of weeks ago ... it lifted me 3ft in the air and dumped me back on my feet ... winded me, but a slow jog home eased the lungs and aside from some small bruising around the rib cage I suffered no serious side effects. The cause was simply not paying attention. I run that route every day, so I know the chain is there! But in the dark, thinking of the words to my next sea shanty ...
Steve
Since I've never suffered a running injury (crosses fingers, touches wood, and sings a short mildly risqué sea shanty), I'm worried if my ignorance is making me too complacent about the risks. I've been focussing almost exclusively on building frequency over the last couple of years since I started running regularly. And with rare exceptions, I'm still doing one of my variations on the same 5.5km-ish commute between home and office. As my frequency approaches doing that consistently each way every single day, I find myself more often contemplating the need to focus elsewhere ... on upping the distance, the speed or trying another sport.
Where do folks find the greatest risks of running injury? Is it during competitions (I've only entered one race), or training? Is it with greater speed or distance, or is it usually due to "other" distractions ... for example: I ran into a chain strung across the entrance to a field at the end of road in the dark a couple of weeks ago ... it lifted me 3ft in the air and dumped me back on my feet ... winded me, but a slow jog home eased the lungs and aside from some small bruising around the rib cage I suffered no serious side effects. The cause was simply not paying attention. I run that route every day, so I know the chain is there! But in the dark, thinking of the words to my next sea shanty ...
Steve