Injury: an inability to control, endure, or recover from specific or repeated loads. Cause: insufficient physical capacity, recovery, movement efficiency, or fuel.
You need to build physical capacity — your ability to tolerate the loads you put on the body. Running specifically requires a long time to develop physical capacity. You need to build the tendons and muscle strength first, then gradually build. Typically, people who sign up for their first marathon develop knee pain during the ramp-up in mileage; the knees need time to adapt to those training loads.
- Strength training plays a big role in physical capacity.
- Recovery and sleep time is important — value excellent sleep hygiene.
- Movement efficiency is paramount. If you have an energy leak, or a hip muscle with weakness or delayed activation, it can cause pain downstream in the knees or upstream in the back.
- Fuel is important for performance but also helps recovery. Proper electrolyte replacement is key, and performing a sweat test can help you determine how much electrolytes and water you need during an event.
Related service: Triathlon Coaching