Springtime Surprise is coming up… in 6 weeks at the time of writing this. Time is flying by!

If you’re prone to injuries, or already struggling with an injury, Pain & Panic! may be setting in. If that’s you… keep reading for the best things to do now so you can run Springtime Surprise and cross that finish line.

In the next 6 weeks there are a few things to focus on:

1. Fueling on your long runs

2. Stretching after every workout

3. Hot epsom salt baths

4. Professional massage

5. Costume trial run

6. Remember: it’s better to be a little undertrained than overtrained.

Fueling

Fueling is so important, you know that. But, it’s even more important as someone who’s struggling with an injury. If your body is already trying to get through and heal the injury it’s using up more of your nutrition (energy reserves) to heal the injury… if you skimp on long run fueling when you’re already behind that’s going to wind up in a disaster in the form of non-healing injuries or new injuries.

Long run fueling: carbs & electrolytes every 20-30 minutes. Aim for 60g+ carbs per hour for runs longer than 60 minutes. Or if you’re like me, any run that’s 45 minutes or longer I need to fuel.

Post-run fueling: injuries need protein… and more protein than the usual person so load up on the protein. The easiest way to do this after a run is a pre-made protein shake with 30g of protein. My preference is Orgain.

Stretching

Stretching helps reduce pain, stiffness, tightness and soreness which in turn prevents new or worsening injuries. Stretch all major muscle groups after every workout. That means after walking, running, cross training, strength training, etc. If you’re new to stretching start with 10 seconds at a time for how long you hold each stretch. Here’s a video of my favorite running specific stretches.

Baths

Hot epsom salt baths help with muscle soreness, lactic acid build up and overall relief after a run or workout. Take one after a long run or intense workout, aiming for 20-30 minutes (or longer, though longer isn’t necessary).

Not a hot bath fan? You could do a cold plunge/ice bath for 3-5 minutes. My preference is hot epsom salt baths, much more relaxing.

Massage

Getting a professional massage, when used in combination of all the other major components of a successful training program, helps heal injuries and prevent soreness and new injuries. It’s ideal to have at least 1 professional massage a month for 60-90 minutes (go longer when possible). And then in between sessions you can use your massage gun and foam roller to maintain what the Massage Therapist worked on.

Sign up for a professional massage for the day of the race, or day after the race to handle any post-race soreness and pain that naturally comes from running these runDisney events.

Costumes

This is the time for a costume trial run. Nobody wants chaffing or blisters from a costume on race day.

Undertrained vs Overtrained

Finally, part of the focus int he next 6 weeks is that it’s better to be a little undertrained than overtrained. You can make a big jump in mileage once in your training with little to no real problems, but if you repeatedly over do it you’re in for a disaster. That’s where 80% of running injuries come from: overtraining… doing too much over and over again during training. So if you’re looking at the calendar and seeing 6 weeks and your long run is only 3 miles and you’re doing the 10 miler or the Challenge for Springtime Surprise… no need to worry. Put in the work, increase your mileage slowly, utilize cross training to make up the difference in the miles you haven’t done, and then go out on race day and run your race.

If all that sounds good but you’re not quite sure how to implement it, I have 1:1 coaching appointments open in March specifically to get runners ready for Springtime Surprise. Go ahead and email me here to set up an appointment.

If you’re someone I don’t yet know: Hi! I’m Dr. Ali. I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy using my PT background to coach injured and injury-prone runDisney runners so they can cross the finish line without feeling broken or like they’re held together with KT Tape. In 1:1 coaching I take your training plan and morph it into the perfect program for you based on your running history and injury so you can train safely and get across that finish line. Topics we cover include: when and how much to run, choosing the best cross-training type and amounts for you, how and how much to strength train so your injury can heal, stretching that will be best for you, and what kind of pain relief things you should be doing at home so you can heal right this time around and keep running at Disney.