It seems a bit of a cliché to be talking about how bad the weather has been for running but there just doesn’t seem any way around it. When we were formulating our plans for Get Running we had visions of people getting back into running on crisp winter mornings with the sun low in the sky. Instead it’s been storm-force winds, horizontal hailstones and relentless rain.
Fortunately, those of you who signed up for Get Running seem to be made of stern stuff. After we warned on our Facebook page about the wild conditions last weekend, several runners shared their experience.
Mary Clerkin wrote after finishing week three that there's "nothing like running in hail and gale-force winds to wake you up. Found the first eight minutes very tough. Then set my next eight minutes into two four-minute, back-to-back blocks. Simple but it worked. It didn't feel so impossible after all. Ready for week four. Bring it on!!"
Judi Duggan O Riordan seemed to be enjoying the weather as much as the programme when she proclaimed it a "great day for a run. Can't beat the battling against the wind and rain. Brilliant."
Although only starting into week three, Annette O’Leary said she was looking forward to it despite having to get out in Saturday’s wind and rain: “It was a bad night to be out but once I was moving, I was enjoying it. Let’s hope the weather will improve for all of us on this programme!”
Reader s may remember Lorraine Flynn, who shared her touching story about how she was completing her training in the house as her husband was away on business all week and she was minding the kids. Lorraine has, as she puts it herself ,"graduated to the open air" and all seems to be going well.
"I thought that the freezing cold would have stopped me in my tracks as soon as I got outdoors, as I had been used to central heating for the last few weeks! I did the warm-up walk and couldn't wait to start running. I wanted to see if doing my training in the house would have been a drawback but was so happy when I completed the four-minute run without a problem."
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PREVENTING INJURY
Lots of people have sent queries to our weekly online Q&A sessions about existing injuries and aches and pains encountered since starting the programme.
As a result we’ve been working with the Society of Chartered Physiotherapists to help answer your queries and allay your concerns.
Chartered physios says these are the most common causes of sports injuries:
1 Poor preparation and cool down. Warm-up allows you to increase body temperature and blood flow to the muscles and joints of the limbs in preparation for exercise. Post-exercise cool down and stretching will help to reduce next day stiffness.
2 Doing too much training too soon: a body needs time to adapt and strengthen during an exercise programme. Pain during or after exercise may be a signal that somebody is doing too much.
3 Unsuitable equipment. Gear needs to be in good condition and suitable for the sport.
4 Returning to sport too soon after injury. Any injury will predispose you to injury in the future, visiting a Chartered Physiotherapist to undergo appropriate injury rehabilitation will help to prevent this.
