Tips for Staying Injury-free During Race Training

For those of us training for spring marathons and half marathons, our mileage is increasing and we may be experiencing some typical training “aches and pains.” Sometimes it’s nothing more than our body acclimating to the miles we’re logging. Other times, however, we may be on the brink of injury (or, worse, dealing with a definite injury).

On this week’s episode of the Michigan Runner Girl Show, Heather welcomes Brandon Lorenz of Probility Physical Therapy in Ann Arbor to the show to talk about staying healthy and injury-free during our training cycles. {Click on the player above to listen to this episode} Both Heather and Brandon are in the midst of training for big goal races — Heather is in week 6 of training for her 8th marathon, the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City this spring, while Brandon is gearing up for his first Ironman in California later this year — so staying injury-free is definitely on their minds.

Brandon is a physical therapist with more than 15 years of clinical experience. He also teaches continuing education courses across the country to other physical therapists. He’s also been running for about 20 years. This show covers common issues that may arise during our training and how best to handle them. Heather and Brandon talk about the importance of rest days, how cross-training can help (but also how it may not be what you should focus on during race training), fueling well, treating minor aches and pains (and how to know if you’ve got an injury), the power of massage and ice baths, and lots more. Whether you’re training for your first half marathon or marathon, or you’re preparing for your 20th race, you’re sure to take away some helpful information and be inspired listening to Brandon and Heather.