# Avoid Run Injuries AND Get Faster! | Ep 482

An episode of [Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/951501034), 27 Mar 2024, 16 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/ea99f7d8/podcast/play/84587935/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2024-2-26%2F372303096-44100-2-27c4a0aeb445.mp3

Coach Rob's top 3 things that he sees triathletes not doing, or doing wrong time and time again in their run training. You'll quickly learn how to become a significantly faster runner off the bike WITHOUT risking injury. If you've struggled with run injuries, or found you're simply not getting any faster despite your training, this video is for you! * * * * * * * * SPONSORS * * * * * * * * Like what you heard in this interview? Join hundreds of other age group triathletes making the most of their limited training time, training with Team OxygenAddict! http://team.oxygenaddict.com - The most comprehensive triathlon coaching program for busy age groupers. Join the Team Oxygenaddict waiting list and be the first to find out when a space becomes available: https://team.oxygenaddict.com/waiting-list * * * * * * * * * * * * precisionfuelandhydration.com Precision Fuel & Hydration help athletes personalise their hydration and fuelling strategies for training and racing. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised race nutrition plan for your next event. And then book a free 20-minute video consultation with a member of the PF&H Athlete Support Team to refine your strategy. Listeners get 15% off their first order of fuel and electrolytes with Precision Fuel & Hydration. Simply use this link and the discount will be auto-applied at the checkout. * * * * * * * * * * * * Watch on youtube Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts

## Transcript

[0:02] Hello and welcome to the Oxygen Attic podcast.
[0:05] We're brought to you every week by our sponsors Precision Fuel
[0:07] and hydration.com. You can personalise your
[0:10] fuelling and hydration strategy so you perform your best with
[0:14] 15% off your first order of electrolytes and carbohydrate
[0:17] fuel. Decode Oxygen 24 at Precision
[0:20] Fuel and hydration.com Welcome to the show everybody.
[0:23] I'm your host, coach Rob Wilby, and every week we bring you an
[0:27] episode of this. Podcast to help.
[0:28] Motivate and inspire. You for your.
[0:30] Triathlon goals for this season Listen a couple of quick things
[0:34] you could do for us before we jump into today's episode.
[0:37] If you do. Like this episode?
[0:38] Please consider following us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and
[0:43] also if you're watching on YouTube, if you could like and
[0:45] subscribe, that would really help out the growth of the show.
[0:49] It helps. The show get shown to more
[0:51] people by the algorithm. On on the.
[0:53] Podcast players and on YouTube which really really appreciate
[0:56] that and secondly if you're looking for help and advice with
[0:59] your. Triathlon training.
[1:01] Please consider getting in touch with us.
[1:02] You can read all about what we offer at teamoxygenaddict.com
[1:06] and then you can e-mail us at help@oxygenaddict.com.
[1:10] Or there's a link in the show notes to book a call with me or
[1:13] one of the coaching team. We can discuss how we can best
[1:16] help you out with your triathlon goals for this season.
[1:20] OK, so I want to talk about the three biggest mistakes I see
[1:24] people making with their run training.
[1:27] And so this is the one that's really close to my heart.
[1:30] I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and he's
[1:33] building up from marathon and he was telling me that he's he's
[1:35] made basically all three of these mistakes that we're going
[1:38] to talk about today and that's really what's prompted this
[1:41] discussion. So the first big mistake that I
[1:44] see runners making or that I see triathletes were training for
[1:48] long distance triathlon making in their run training, let's put
[1:51] it that way because it's front for triathletes and runners.
[1:55] The biggest mistake that I see triathletes making in their run
[1:59] training is trying to do too much fast or hard running within
[2:04] their training. And I really believe that a big
[2:07] part of this comes down to the background of runners and
[2:10] running clubs and how running clubs train.
[2:12] The number one way that you're going to improve your running is
[2:16] consistency of running and getting out there more often.
[2:20] It's not going to be the speed work sessions that everyone
[2:24] thinks are going to be the thing.
[2:25] They're really just the icing on the cake.
[2:27] To make the cake itself, you need to be out there running and
[2:31] you need to be doing consistent, frequent runs at a pace that you
[2:35] can keep up, at a pace that doesn't make you at risk from
[2:40] getting injuries or niggles. And that's the biggest
[2:43] disconnect, if you like, that I see between the way people think
[2:47] they need to train and the way that they actually need to
[2:50] train. So the biggest risk that you're
[2:52] going to put yourself in in terms of messing up your run
[2:56] training for a long distance triathlon is picking up any kind
[3:00] of nickel or injury or anything that's going to get in the way
[3:03] of your consistency. If you can be a consistent
[3:07] runner, if you can run day in, day out, if you can ideally run
[3:11] three or four times a week and at the end of every run you're
[3:14] actually ready to train again the next day, that's the best
[3:18] kind of training that you can do as a long distance triathlete.
[3:22] The risk I think comes in where people go and train with running
[3:26] clubs, people go and train with people who are from a running
[3:29] background. And the tendency I think is to
[3:32] look for a hack or to look for a shortcut or to look for what
[3:35] people call, what's the quality session here?
[3:38] As a triathlete, I'm only running three or four times a
[3:40] week and these runners are running six or seven times a
[3:43] week. So what can I cut out and what
[3:46] can I, what can I take from them as a secret?
[3:49] And it seems to me that an awful lot of people think that it's
[3:52] the hard runs, the fast runs, the track sessions, that Hill
[3:56] Rep sessions, They're the ones that they should take from the
[3:59] running clubs, armoury if you like, and they should skip the
[4:04] the easy runs, the steady runs, the longer runs and put those on
[4:08] one side. And I'm here to say to you that
[4:10] it's the exact opposite. That's true.
[4:13] It's the easy runs, the consistent run.
[4:15] They're the thing that's going to build durability in your body
[4:18] and that's going to allow you to build the ability to do more
[4:21] training in the future. That's ultimately what's going
[4:25] to bring you success as a triathlete at the long distance.
[4:29] Fast running, hard running, track runs, hill runs, any kind
[4:33] of thing that involves intervals, reps go in really
[4:36] hard. I said to this friend of mine
[4:39] track sessions that were essentially 20 minutes of hope
[4:42] and 40 minutes of reality and then an hour at the
[4:44] physiotherapist and and there was a tongue in cheek as I said
[4:48] this, but it's true in an awful lot of cases, especially if
[4:52] you're into middle age. If you're 4550 plus years old,
[4:56] any kind of fast or hard running is the number one thing that is
[5:01] a threat to your long term running ability.
[5:03] Because if you pick up sore calves, sore soleus, muscle sore
[5:07] hamstrings, and that means you have to miss who knows.
[5:11] One run, three runs, six runs out of your run training.
[5:14] You have to wonder how much actual long term benefit that
[5:20] very small extra amount of training stimulus at the higher
[5:23] intensity has given you compared to if you've managed to do
[5:27] another three or six or nine consistent steady runs.
[5:31] So that's the number one tip I would give you to avoid a large
[5:36] amount of the harder or the faster running in your training
[5:39] and really try and reduce or minimise or limit anything
[5:43] that's going to threaten your ability to train on a
[5:46] day-to-day, week to week basis. The second big mistake that I
[5:52] see triathletes making is doing all of their runs continuously,
[5:57] especially their longest run. And I can understand why people
[6:01] make this mistake because at the end of the day, if we if we talk
[6:05] to a friend who's not really into triathlon or running and
[6:08] you tell them you're going to run a marathon, one of the
[6:10] really common things people say to you is are you going to run
[6:13] the whole marathon without stopping?
[6:14] Are you going to run the whole marathon and you're Iron Man
[6:16] without stopping? Or the whole half marathon in
[6:19] your half Iron Man without stopping.
[6:22] And it can be very tempting to the ego to to want to be the
[6:25] person who can answer yes to that.
[6:28] And actually, that's not the real question.
[6:30] The real question is, have you performed as best as you
[6:33] possibly could on race day and got yourself from the start of
[6:37] the swim to the end of the run in the fastest possible time
[6:41] that you could have done? It's irrelevant whether you take
[6:43] a walk break. And if you watch many of our
[6:45] videos or podcasts, you'll know that we use walk breaks as a
[6:49] planned way to actually get you to the finish line faster than
[6:53] if you try and do the whole thing.
[6:55] A continuous run. So in training I recommend all
[6:59] our athletes, their long run of the week is done as a nine one
[7:04] run walk ratio. So 9 minutes of running, one
[7:08] minute of walking. And what do I mean by long run?
[7:11] Well, it's whatever you consider long relative to your training
[7:15] at the moment or anything at 60 minutes and above O.
[7:19] If you're just starting out and you're running 15 minutes in a
[7:22] session, if your longer run is 20 minutes or 25 minutes, then
[7:26] that's your long run for the week.
[7:28] Break this up into the nine one run walk method.
[7:32] If you're running further than that and your long run is 60
[7:35] minutes, 7590 or even longer, break that run up into nine and
[7:40] one run walk. It's going to have two big
[7:43] benefits. The first big benefit is you
[7:47] will not get anywhere near as sore and tired the day after
[7:51] your long run as you're expecting to.
[7:54] And typically athletes find that the first time they try to run
[7:58] walk method, they can run for about double the duration of the
[8:02] long run they're expecting to be able to.
[8:04] So if you can currently do an hour as your long run, you could
[8:08] probably do 2 hours as a nine one run walk tomorrow.
[8:13] And I understand that that sounds it sounds you know
[8:15] magical and fantastical and and and really I'm not trying to
[8:19] sell you anything. I just encourage you to try the
[8:22] nine one run walk method, see how you feel the day after that
[8:26] long run. Because again, success and long
[8:29] distance triathlon comes from being able to string
[8:32] back-to-back day after day training sessions, not get too
[8:36] tired, not get too sore to be able to train the next day.
[8:40] Again, this walk break that you take in the long runs is an
[8:45] amazing way of really reducing the amount of soreness and the
[8:49] amount of fatigue you feel the day after that long run.
[8:53] So I really encourage everyone to try this.
[8:57] I mentioned again, there's a second part to this.
[8:59] What you'll find is actually during the run as well.
[9:02] As well as minimising the amount of soreness and amount of
[9:04] fatigue you've got the next day, it also manages to make the run
[9:09] feel much more comfortable actually during the run itself.
[9:13] So whereas a long run of 60 minutes, 90 minutes, two hours
[9:17] can feel like a really, really long time and that can play into
[9:20] your mind as you're running and make you think.
[9:22] I might not actually make this entire run.
[9:25] If all you've got to do is run until the end of this nine
[9:28] minute section and then you know that you get a walk break at the
[9:31] end of it. That's really positively
[9:34] motivating and you can get yourself in a very positive
[9:37] mental spiral thinking I actually only have to get to the
[9:40] end of this nine minute section and then I get a walk break
[9:43] again. And there's something happens
[9:46] mentally with with every single athlete that we've worked with,
[9:50] they're amazed how much easier it is to get through.
[9:53] If you like 12 runs of nine minutes rather than a 2 hour
[9:58] long run. It just breaks it up into chunks
[10:01] that the mind seems to find much, much easier to digest.
[10:06] And again, come race day in a long distance triathlon or even
[10:09] in a marathon, there's going to be aid stations out there.
[10:12] You are going to have to go through the aid station, get a
[10:15] drink, take on calories, take on electrolytes, and it's really
[10:19] hard to do that while you're running, certainly without
[10:21] spilling it all over yourself. O, having that walk break as you
[10:25] go through an aid station on race day is going to be part of
[10:28] your strategy. So it works both ways.
[10:31] It's part of a way to build that into your training session as
[10:34] well. Now the 3rd way, the third
[10:38] mistake that I see triathletes making in their run training is
[10:41] wanting to do run races too often and it's understandable.
[10:46] There's there's a part of our mind and a part of our ego, says
[10:50] I will only believe that I'm getting fitter if I see that I'm
[10:54] getting fitter in a race situation.
[10:56] And the traditional way of seeing if you've got fitter is
[10:59] entering a 5K, entering a 10K, entering 1/2 marathon.
[11:03] And those of you who've been in running clubs or who've got
[11:05] friends in running clubs will know runners are entering races
[11:09] pretty much every week and sometimes two races or maybe
[11:13] even 3 races a week during the summer season because there are
[11:16] so many Ireland people want to take advantage of doing those.
[11:21] I'm gonna say to you again that the way to think about this is
[11:25] in the light of the first two things that we've said, the
[11:27] first two mistakes we've mentioned in this episode
[11:30] already. The thing that's going to get in
[11:32] the way of you making the biggest long term progress is if
[11:36] you have an illness, if you have injury, if you have niggles,
[11:42] anything that threatens your ability to do things
[11:44] consistently and racing frequently is going to be one of
[11:49] those things. The day after a race, people are
[11:51] going to feel at best really fatigued and probably really
[11:56] sore as well. And that soreness is going to
[11:58] have a knock on effect for one day, two days, three days, maybe
[12:02] even up to four days worth of training afterwards.
[12:05] And so it actually has a net negative effect.
[12:09] Even if you have a great race, even if it goes really well and
[12:12] you come out of it full of confidence, it has a net
[12:15] negative on the fact that you can't really do any significant,
[12:18] meaningful one training for the next three or four days.
[12:22] But we understand the need that the mind and the ego has to see
[12:26] that you're making progress. So what I'm going to suggest to
[12:29] you is if you need to do a fitness test to measure your
[12:32] fitness, do a fitness test, but don't do it at the very top end.
[12:37] And by its definition, a race is pushing yourself as hard as you
[12:41] can for the duration and distance of that race.
[12:44] The run test that we do with our athletes is a submaximal run
[12:48] test. So typically we'll do that over
[12:50] 30 minutes or 45 minutes and what we'll do is we'll cap the
[12:55] run pace at a submaximal pace. So for the sake of argument,
[13:00] those of you who know Jack Daniels V calculator, we use M
[13:03] pace from that or marathon race pace and running that for 30 to
[13:08] 45 minutes in training is it feels like a significant tempo
[13:12] run. It's a big effort to do it on
[13:14] your own in training, but you'll be fully recovered the next day
[13:17] by the time, by the time you're ready to train again.
[13:21] We have athletes measure their heart rate as they do this run
[13:25] test and So what we get at the end of it is we know we've run
[13:28] for 30 minutes or 45 minutes. We know the pace that we've run
[13:32] at, we know the heart rate that we ended up running at when we
[13:36] analysed the results afterwards. And then if you want to do the
[13:38] test again in six weeks time or 8 weeks time, you can go back to
[13:42] the same course. You can try and make as many of
[13:45] the conditions similar as they were before in terms of time of
[13:49] day, temperature, weather conditions, as much as you can
[13:52] and then go out and run the same pace and see what your heart
[13:56] rate has done. And in almost all cases we see
[13:59] with our athletes that across a block of time, if we look at
[14:03] three or four, six to eight week blocks, gradually the heart rate
[14:08] will get lower for the same given pace across that time.
[14:13] And that's the way that your mind and your ego get to see
[14:17] yes, I am making progress, I am getting fitter.
[14:20] My heart rate is lower at the same pace was six weeks, 12
[14:24] weeks ago. And that's evidence to me that
[14:26] I'm getting faster and I'm getting fitter without the need
[14:30] to push yourself to the very top end, without the risks that
[14:34] pushing yourself very top end racing brings with it.
[14:37] So that way you can be really sure and really clear that
[14:40] you're making progress without needing to put yourself at risk
[14:44] of an injury or excessive fatigue.
[14:49] OK, I really hope you enjoyed this week's episode.
[14:52] To wrap things up here are some discount codes and deals for
[14:55] you. A recision Fuel and hydration
[14:57] com. You can use the code Oxygen 24
[14:59] for 15% off your first electrolyte order.
[15:02] You can also use their free fuel and hydration planning tool to
[15:06] receive a personalised strategy for your next race.
[15:09] Their planner will help you understand your own
[15:10] carbohydrate, electrolyte and fluid needs so you can refine
[15:14] your strategy during training. And don't forget, you can even
[15:17] book a free one to one video consultation with PFH's Athlete
[15:21] Support team and they'll be happy to help you nail your race
[15:24] nutrition plan. And they'll help you perform
[15:26] your best on race day. And also over at Team Oxygen
[15:30] Addict ICOM, we've got the most comprehensive triathlon coaching
[15:33] programme for busy age groupers. You can check out the details of
[15:36] our coaching on our website and if it sounds good, please book a
[15:40] call with us and see if you'd be a good fit for joining the team.
[15:43] Let's see how we can best help you achieve your triathlon goals
[15:46] for the coming season. So remember, there's links in
[15:49] the show notes. You don't have to remember them
[15:51] until next week. Have a great, safe training and
[15:54] racing week. I'm coach Rob Wilby, and you've
[15:57] been listening to the Oxygenated podcast.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.