A Little About Injury Prevention

Injuries tend to occur for 4 reasons: accidents, poor form or technique, inadequate warmup, or doing too much too soon. Some accidents can be prevent by thinking ahead, being aware, and avoiding dangerous situations. Other times accident just happen and there's not much you can do about that. Poor form or technique can be improved upon. We work on various this on rides, runs, and especially in the water. We only have so much time together so making any significant changes in your running or riding is difficult. Because swimming is so technique-intensive we must do more with that. In addition, strength training can help build muscle balance that also supports the joints and their movements. I encourage you to add weights/strength training to your workout routine - men AND women.

The two most important things you can do are to have an adequate warm up and to carefully progress the time and intensity of your workouts. That's why there is a gradual progression in your training from one week to the next. It's also why you gradually add faster paced training like pickups, sprints, and race pace type efforts.  You do not want jump into a workout without a warmup and then all of a sudden do some sort of all out anaerobic sprint effort. Ever workout needs to begin with a warmup. 

 

Doing dynamic movements will help you warmup as well as help you with balance and with range of motion. But even if you don't do these types of exercises, at the very least you always need to start off slowly to prepare your body for the work ahead. Easy swimming, riding, or running/walking is always the way to start a training session. It's okay to feel a little stiff, or tight or sore during the warmup. However if it persists then you need to back off and possibly stop working out.

If you do get injured you need to stop immediately so that you limit the damage. Listen to your body. "Pushing through" or "toughing it out" is not a smart athlete's choice. Don't lose sight of your long term goal by forcing the short term goal of completing the workout if an injury starts to rear it's head. The words to go by? "Live to train another day."

It's important to know the difference between "good pain" and "bad pain". Good pain is when you experience muscle fatigue, lactic acid burn, or muscle stress from hard work. Bad pain is injury pain. It doesn't feel right and it's a warning to stop immediately. When coaches and athletes say something like "no pain, no gain" they are NOT talking about the bad pain!

I am not a medical professional and can't offer medical advice but if you do get injured consider the RICE method of treatment, depending on the injury of course! RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. If it is more serious, see a doctor (someone who understands sports and athletes is the best option). Get physical therapy. Give it time to heal and make sure it is healed before starting back. Also remember that there are alternative exercises you can do so that you don't lose the conditioning you've worked hard to acquire. I can often help with that.

That Swimming Feeling

This weekend Linda and I talked a lot about swimming. We are working with a large number of beginning swimmers who are getting ready to swim the 500 meters that is part of the TriRock triathlon in September. We talked about many things but something in particular struck me as interesting. Some people like to swim but really don't care all that much about how fast they go as long as they get a workout in or as long as they go a certain distance. While this is perfectly fine, it got me thinking about my swimming and what a beginner or intermediate swimmer misses out on.

Because I'm a good swimmer who is proficient, efficient, and strong in the water, I am sometimes able to experience something more. Now that I'm trying to write this I'm realizing how hard it is to describe... I have to be in good swimming shape, be fairly fresh, and not be doing an all out sprint. When I am feeling fresh and strong and fast, and I have a good feel for the water, when I swim at a moderately fast speed, there is a sensation or feeling I get that is wonderful and different. To me not only do I feel weightless but I feel like I'm slicing through the water. The resistance I experience comes from pushing against the water, not from the water holding me back. I imagine it's similar to flying or floating weightlessly, except I am using my own muscles, my own strength, to propel me. There is a power, a sort of freedom, when you can move through the water and feel it rushing by you. The bubbles go past your ears in a dull gurgle as you slice smoothly across the surface in seemingly effortless motion. The feeling is power and strength and beauty. And the sensation is fleeting. Once fatigue starts then those feelings begin to recede. Once your heart rate elevates too high, it becomes more of a battle with or against the water. Once you begin to get winded your focus begins to shift away from the grace and power and rush of swimming fast and back to the physical effort.

I don't know if you can experience this without having that special feel for the water and without having the strength, power, speed, and efficient technique that a good swimmer has. Some would think me a little looney in thinking about swimming in this way but it's one of those little bonuses I get by being the swimmer (though older and slower than I used to be) that I am.