Why You Always Get Hurt Running

There's a pattern I see constantly with lifters who start running.

• Week 1: feel ok.
• Week 2: better.
• Week 3: feeling good.
• Week 4: feeling great, so they add a day, add some miles, do more "speed work."
• Week 6: shin splints, knees hurt, foot pain, aching hip.

It's very predictable.

I'd say at least 95% of new runners have some type of injury within 4-6 weeks, sometimes sooner, of starting running.

It's almost a requirement to become a runner.

But it doesn't have to be.

And it's not bad luck.

It's a timing mismatch built into your body.

The timing mismatch

Your heart and lungs adapt in weeks.

A few weeks of consistent running and your paces drop, your heart rate settles, running starts to feel easier.

That part of you is ready for more.

Your tendons, ligaments, bones, and joints adapt in months.

They don't care that your heart/lungs are progressing rapidly and are ready for more.

They're on their own schedule, and it's a slow one.

So a month in, you've got a cardio system saying "more" and connective tissue saying "not yet."

Problem is, you don't know or feel that your orthopedic system is so far behind.

Then suddenly, you notice it.

Achilles starts hurting a bit, outer hip/knee starts aching, shins are progressively getting more sore to the touch.

This hits lifters harder than anyone.

If your BMI is over 25, even if you're lean, every stride puts serious force through joints that have spent years being strong but not springy.

Your fitness will be ready for volume long before your legs can absorb it.

The fix

Boring, but here it is: continue easing into it and slowly building up time/mileage even when you feel great.

Especially when you feel great.

Feeling great a month in is when the risk actually peaks, because it's the first time you're tempted to do more than the plan says.

Give the slow tissues their months.

The runners who never seem to get hurt aren't tougher than you or less injury-prone.

They just stopped forcing volume and intensity before their body was ready for it.

The 10% rule is bullshit

The 10% rule is the common advice for building weekly mileage: add 10% a week.

In my opinion, it's complete bullshit, and in most cases it's too much.

You can make a lot of progress for a long time keeping your volume the same.

Say you're running 20-25 miles a week and you keep it there for six months.

Your paces will get faster and you'll keep improving without much, if any, increase in total volume.

That's not to say increasing volume shouldn't be a goal.

It should, eventually.

But too many people get caught up, especially when starting to run, in hitting some arbitrary mileage number.

The right amount of miles is very individual, and it can vary a lot person to person, especially if you're lifting, cross-training, or training for Hyrox or CrossFit.

15 miles a week may be enough. Or 25. For some of you, maybe 30-plus.

Build up a bit at first, then keep your mileage (or total time, which I prefer for most people) the same.
Hold it there not just for weeks, but for months.

Trust me, you can still make a ton of progress without constantly trying to increase mileage.

Capacity Training

If you keep getting hurt every time you try to run, you're probably running too fast. I built Capacity Training to teach you how to build up your mileage slowly by learning how to run easy, with easy cross-training and your lifting planned around it.

Run faster. Get stronger. capacitytraining.app

Mike