Becoming a long distance walker and/or runner definitely includes knowing ways to enjoy that movement for your lifetime.   The information below is the result of what I have learned while training hundreds of walkers and runners plus my own running experience of over 45 years.  Let’s explore why we get injured and then how to prevent injuries from occurring.

“All that we achieve and all that we fail to achieve is the direct result                     of our own thoughts.” James Allen


    Develop your goal visually, learn to mentally see yourself achieve, and then physically implement.  As I write this article I am reminded of never having any athletic talent, nor ever dreamed I would be jumping out of an airplane and competing in acrobatics.  I had to develop mental control of my thoughts, so actions could be had, and goals could be met.  Learning to control my thoughts is largely how I was able to reach creative, yet challenging goals such as:  competing in aerial acrobatics, completion of 94 marathons including 12 Boston marathons,  and being a teacher for over 26 years-need I say more!

The secret to success in establishing physical fitness is developing a routine.  Beginning a physical fitness program can be much like dieting programs.  Your first initiation will require discipline, changes of behavior, development of new habits, cultural re-thinking, continual motivation, and a definite form of commitment.   How does one form a consistent routine which faces those challenges?

To perform best in a given distance event; it is best to train specifically for it.   Most people are fine with getting the distance done and generally speaking may not think further than that.  Even with the training aspect of distance, many participants still do not go far enough.  Long distance walking or running is best done at a slower pace so you can go the “extra distance” which is critical when one trains to reach their full potential.  

Vigorous exercise gives the heart muscle a workout.  Like your other muscles it contracts and expands.  The more this contraction and expansion occurs, the greater the heart pumps blood, which then includes ALL kinds of benefits such as:

    
 Reach your highest potential both aerobically and biomechanically      

1.  Learn breathing rate.  Associate effort level running with breathing rate
2.  Change your foot strike while running.

     What do we do when an injury occurs in the sport we love?  When a setback occurs I prescribe what is called “moving medicine” or alternative ways of staying fit.  With most sports related injuries we can expect to be sidelined on an average of 2-3 months; enough time to lose much of the fitness gains made.  Let’s imagine not losing fitness; but rather maintain and possibly increase physical fitness by channeling energies and our “well” body parts into another sport.  Further, let’s explore other aspects of becoming fit which will help support a quick return to the sport you had to stop.

Perhaps one of our biggest challenges in all sports is to learn proper form.  Running is all about proper form; especially due to the high amount of impact. Most seasoned distance runners were inspired by the famed coach, Arthur Lydiard.  As the years have passed and this goes back more than 45 years ago Lydiard wrote and trained others to practice Long Slow Distance (LSD) running.  With his writings as our guideline, we all learned two important aspects of running.  One central theme was the law of specificity; to run long distances you need to get the miles in.  The other aspect was being light on the feet due to the enormous amount of impact many miles employ. The use of the forefoot was key in terms of foot strike.

    


 I never was injured in the muscular/tendon area for more than 20 or more years.  Why? I had weekly and sometimes bi-weekly massages-that is optimum and not viable for most of us.  So let’s explore why we get injured and then how to prevent injuries from occurring.