Wednesday, August 27, 2014

The Two French Idiots

Its that time of year again. Nope, not Christmas. Not Festivus. Cross Cuntry.

But I guess I overdid things and have been stuck on the elliptical for the last 3+ weeks. Which sucks cause training was going just swell. Best (read: second) build of my life. I did the strength work, I did the drills. I did the stretching, I ran the hills. Things don't always work out.

There's an idea among those who care to study injuries and running - as one's volume increases linearly, their risk of injury increases exponentially. While the actual values in this formula differ from person to person, the relationship nevertheless exists in everybody. I like to think it changes as we train from year to year, getting stronger/smarter we can handle more volume, but it is still up to every athlete to figure out what the optimal point of training is. Where can we reap the largest benefit at the most cost-effective risk?

This point for some is effectively limited by the mileage that they can handle mentally. I think for me, personally, I shouldn't run more than 7-8 hours per week until down the road when I can handle more without getting hurt physically. I'll follow that rule in the future and simply supplement with the e.t. I've said this in the past when injured, but if I don't stick with the plan this time, I'll get hurt again and no progress will ever be made.

Time to smarten up.

D.C.