A starter kit for the COVID-19 runner
In the weeks since the UK went into lockdown, there has been an upward trend of runners present in local parks/residential areas taking advantage of our one outing per day. This strange time we find ourselves in has given a lot of us a chance to have a look at our health habits and make changes to our routines in order to take care of our physical, chemical and emotional health. As a result, there are many of us that have now decided to use running as a tool to take a break and take care of our health.
Running, for a lot of people, is an activity that seems fairly straightforward and is mostly dependent on cardiovascular fitness. But running - if done without fair technique and careful progression - can be quite unhealthy for our joints. It is generally a high impact activity and, believe it or not, there is more to it than meets the eye.
I found this out the hard way last year. I had succumbed to peer pressure and signed up to attempt a half Iron Man six months down the line. I wasn’t in great shape and my cardiovascular fitness was pretty poor as well. I knew the run was going to be my biggest challenge for this event because I don’t enjoy running and I hadn’t really done any distance running in years. It also didn’t help that the run was the final part of the race.
As such, I learned some really useful running dos and don’ts along the way, and these form my ‘starter kit’ for how not to hurt yourself when running…
1. Don’t land on your heel. Most infrequent runners have a habit of running with a heel strike (landing on your heel and then toeing off with your next stride). This is because we walk with a heel strike, when we start jogging at a low speed it feels natural to keep heel striking and we continue with this form when we increase our speed. What is generally better for your joints is to land on your toes first then let your heel make contact with the ground. By landing with a toe strike, the impact forces are distributed from the toes, through the foot arch, ankle, knee, hip then lower back. By landing on the heel, forces instead go directly to the knees, hips and lower back. A heel strike also acts as a breaking force, slowing us down a tiny bit with each stride.
If you have never run with a toe strike over longer distances before this can take some getting used to – it feels strange at first and you will probably have to remind yourself a fair bit to do it as you fatigue. But when you’re just starting to create a new running routine, it’s actually the best time to try implement this new style, as you haven’t wired any bad running habits yet.
2. Don’t overdo it. Whatever your level of running, it’s quite easy to overdo it when you get into it and are enjoying it. If you do not have a regular running routine, I would recommend a minimum of two, ideally three days between each run. This gives the tissues being strained during the run a chance to heal and strengthen in between.
If you are getting back into running and had a running routine once upon a time, I would recommend running 30% of the distance you would normally comfortably run and focus on your pace. This is really going to help minimise the risk of injuring yourself while your body is adapting to running again, while still allowing you to train your cardiovascular health.
3. Do look into at least basic running shoes. I would not recommend running in heels, wellies, sandals or sneakers, haha! On a serious note, I highly recommend running in actual running shoes as they are designed to help your joints deal better with the high impact forces of running. If you are more daring and want to strengthen your feet to be able to deal with the forces better themselves, I would recommend looking into barefoot running shoes. However, I must stress that I would not recommend this for a beginner runner. And for the more experienced runner that wants to try something new, I will add that the transitional period to barefoot shoes is long and frustrating, but ultimately rewarding when you’ve done it. If you would like some more information on barefoot shoes I have a separate blog post that goes into more detail about them.
4. Don’t eat soon before your run. Running on a full tummy is not the most comfortable thing in the world and is not particularly productive. I would recommend planning to eat at least three hours before a run or immediately following a run.
Eating three hours before the run will give your body time to digest your food and use the energy gained from this meal to fuel your run. If you eat too close to your run, your body will suddenly have to switch to exercise mode before it has properly been able to digest everything, potentially even having to expel the undigested food if your run is too intense. Eating immediately post-run will force your body to use energy it has stored from the last meal you’ve eaten, so you want to eat soon after your run to ensure you do not “fall off a cliff” with your energy levels. Running is meant to make you feel good, so help your body achieve this by eating good food either well before or soon after the run.
5. Do hydrate. This may come across as pretty obvious to most people, but it is worth drinking at least a little water before a run. You will be sweating and losing electrolytes (body salts) during your run. Ideally, you do not want to down a big bottle of water directly before a run – instead, drink a big bottle of water slowly over an hour or so before a run. If you are running first thing in the morning a small glass of water directly before a run will do or be sure to drink plenty of water gradually throughout the rest of the day.
If you do feel a bit headachy or unwell after your run it might be worth drinking an electrolyte sports drink. Many of them are quite sugary and this is not necessarily an issue because it will give your body access to energy quite quickly, but there are also sugar-free alternatives that come in sachets or tablet form that you can buy online. The electrolytes will help your body hold onto the water you put in more effectively, which will aid recovery.