Tip of the Week

Cross-training

When injured, complete rest is rarely the best therapy. In aiming to keep up his athletic qualities and to accelerate the healing process (good vascularization of his injured structures) it is suggested the runner finds an activity to stay fit. That activity (biking, aqua-jogging, swimming, etc) will work his heart without worsening his injury. In other words, painless cardio.
Overtraining

A runner who increases his training sessions and feels symptoms such as: decrease in performance, frequent infections, general fatigue, loss of weight and appetite, low libido, headaches, sleep disturbances, persistent pain … may be overtraining. Vigilance is required. A few days of rest will help one recover. If it lasts, he should consult a physician.
Medical staff

Support for a runner, may it be for a high level one or not, must be done by a competent, specialized and comprehensive professional. For that reason he should never accept final recommendations coming from non runner professionals (physio, chiro, doctor, etc).
Emergency care

If an important and sudden pain appears (sprain, pulled muscle, muscle contusion, etc), a runner must quickly apply ice for 15 minutes on the injured region, immobilise it with an elastic binding, relieve the member by using crutches and consult a specialized physician, who will be able to evaluate the injury and advise you for the rest of the treatment.
Foot orthoses

Plantar orthoses as the first option is not specified in the majority of a runner’s injuries. They may be necessary when dealing with a major pathology, which is not easily corrected with an exercise program. The professional that will help a runner make the proper choice must be a specialist, must be conscious of the specific requirements in running and must work with a group of specialists.
Foot orthoses

The conditions most prone to wearing plantar orthoses are foot pathologies, such as metatarsalgia and tatalgia, which occur in a runner that has a hollow foot. A runner should wear for a short term only and the professional who will make the plantar orthoses must be a specialist, be aware of the specific needs running and must work with a group of specialists.
Quality of sleep

Regular physical activity will help the quality of your sleep. On the other hand, doing an intense activity before going to bed will keep you from sleeping.
Anti-inflammatory pills

Anti-inflammatory pills inhibit le natural healing process and consequently make your tissues more fragile. Avoid using “Advil, Motrin and Ibuprophen” without a proper recommendation of a health practitioner.
Strength training

Solidifying one’s body is a good way to prevent injuries from happening to an athlete. A stabilisation, reinforcement and specific proprioception program may be done directly at home.
Athlete’s nutrition

The food that you eat is the main component of your body (protein builds our muscles, calcium our bones; vitamin C contributes to the fabrication of our tendons and ligaments). In addition, it is in nutrition that a runner gets the necessary energy to run, to help recuperate from hard trainings and also to help the regeneration process. Quality, variety and balance are the watchwords when you talk about athletic nutrition.
Hypoglycaemia

Hypoglycaemia brings specific signs and symptoms such as lack of coordination, weakness, and a change in your mental state (confusion, convulsion, state of unconsciousness, coma). If a runner finishes a big training and presents any of these signs or symptoms, he must quickly drink glucose based liquids (6 to 10%) like apple juice.
Positive attitude

A healthy spirit in a healthy body; or, a healthy body for a healthy spirit. Pleasure, positive attitude, good lifestyle habits directly influence your body and injuries through complex physiological systems (hormones, nervous system, etc.).
Stretching

Generally, it is not recommended to stretch before a workout especially if it is a speed workout. Some studies have even shown that the risk of injury is higher if stretching is done right before training.
Risk of injury

Besides high level athletes, people who practice running and this activity alone are more often injured than others that combine more than one sport. By having a variety of activities in your active lifestyle you may lower your chances of getting hurt.
Fractioned trainings

By fractioning your trainings (e.g.: include minutes of walking during your jogging) you maximise the physiological stress (your heart) and you minimise the stress on your bones, tendons and cartilages, which in turn, helps you lower your risk of injuries.
Flexibility

For certain runners, flexibility remains a good way to prevent injuries. After being evaluated by a qualified professional, it is possible to standardize your muscular retractions by having a personalized program. The runner will then have to practise static, slow and progressive stretching exercises, at night on a daily basis, by maintaining the position 30 seconds, 1 to 5 repetitions by retracted muscular group.
Post training recuperation

For certain runners, a massage helps to recover from difficult trainings, while others prefer ice baths (immersion to the waist in a bath of 5°C or less, for 4 to 10 minutes). On the other hand, all runners should progressively cool down and eat well quickly after training.
It's cold and it's snowing, get outside and enjoy!

Landing on flattened irregular snow is an excellent stimulus for everything that touches proprioception and stimulation of stabilizer muscles. For those who are steping out from the off season, it's the right moment to smoothly integrate most minimalistic shoes with trail crampons and a lighter and more efficient running gait. The slippery snow will automatically get you to run with smaller strides to avoid slippering and the irregular nature of the snow will allow you to gently go from heel striking to midfoot striking.
It's winter, beware of the surface change!

The new snowy surface will bring biomechanics change, be progressive! Cutting your training volume by 2 for the first snowfalls and take 2 to 3 weeks to come back to your regular volume will be wise.
It's winter time, train in volume!

During the cold season, it would be important to privilege volume rather than speed training because cold and intense efforts seem incompatible on certains points: warming up is ore laborious and substantially increases the risk of pulled muscles, tendinitis and articular pain while cold air gasping could irritate or burn your airways.
Running in snowshoes, why not?

This more and more popular sport in northern countries is an excellent way to vary your training. The increase of cardiovascular demand by the additional weight on your feet, the proprioceptive work induced by the variety of surfaces and the global muscular work are good reasons for you to try it out. Attention! Be progressive!
Bare feet

To run bare feet on safe surfaces after trainings (be progressive) and as often as possible to walk bare feet in the house are a good means to solidify the support structures (muscles of the foot) responsible for natural absorption of the shocks... and thus preventing considerable injuries.
Flexibility

Static flexibility before training should be done only if one’s muscular stiffness sufficiently influences his biomechanics to create an injury. It is not recommended, in a general way, to stretch before an activity.
Flat feet and injuries

There is generally no link between anthropometry (flat or hollow feet, shorter leg, etc) and injuries, as long as one is adapted. Think twice before trying to correct them!
Times for training

For high quality trainings, some times during the day are better (9:00 to 12:00 and 4:00 to 8:00).