At any given point in time most endurance athletes know a friend, colleague or coworker who is battling an injury. Or worse, maybe it's you who is suffering from a run induced or related injury.
Unfortunately, this isn't uncommon as studies show about 60 to 65 percent of all runners/triathletes are injured, at some point, during an average year (by definition, an "injury" is a physical problem severe enough to force a reduction in training).
While running injuries are the most common among triathletes, swim and bike injuries can also occur and are just as frustrating.
When you're injured, you're miserable and when you're miserable no one, including your family, wants to be around you.
More: 9 Tips to Avoid Injuries All Season Long
The good news, however, is there are steps we can all take to help actively reduce our risk of running injuries. It's more important to take an active approach in preventing injury than being reactive. Once you're injured there's typically no magic overnight cures to whatever you're suffering from.
Injuries can be a result of a number of factors and some of these include:
- Poor run/bike form and economy
- Lack of recovery from prior workout(s)
- Incorrectly fitting equipment (sneakers, bike, bike fit)
- Lack of knowledge in creating or following a pre-packaged training plan
- Being overweight