Marathon Training Injury

If you're one of the many training for the NYC Marathon there's a pretty good chance you've been spending a fair amount of time running.

How else are you going to be ready, right?

But the "run, run, run" mantra could get you into trouble.


What kind of trouble?

Running is a high impact exercise. If you're running 4 to 5 days a week you're causing a lot of irritation to your joints and a good dose of trauma to your body in general.

Over a prolonged period of time the micro trauma caused by each training session can add up to macro trauma which means a major injury could be on the way.


How do you avoid a major injury and still get the training benefits you need?

Rest. Rest allows your body to heal and avoid any major injury caused by training too hard.

It's okay to take 2 days off from running. It's also okay to take a week off.


Isn't that going to slow down your training?

Not exactly. Instead of running you could focus on many of the rehabilitative things we've discussed in the past. Rest. Stretching. Ice. These things allow your body to recover.

And you can also switch to low impact cross training, such as cycling, swimming or using the elliptical machine. These exercises allow you to still get the cardiovascular benefits without over stressing your body.


So give it a rest

Make sure part of your marathon training is focused on things other than running. Rest your body so it can recover and you can stay on course. Injury free!


To your health,
Jon, Pete and Michelle


P.S. If you have any questions please feel free to give us a call at the office (212) 317-8303.