Physio Works

Some of the most spoken words that I hear:

 “I would love to start trail running, but how do I go about it?”

It is winter in Cape Town, and the best time to start a “hobby”, even better if its one that will keep the winter “layer” away 🙂

From a physiotherapists perspective starting to run is a little more in depth than just grabbing the closest pair of short and shoes, if you don’t want to get injured that is.

So you aren’t running a 20km or scaling mountains every second day, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take your time and go at it in the best way possible for your body.

So here’s how a few tips on how to get fit and not die trying:

1 – Shoes Shoes Shoes

Some of the most avoidable injuries are caused by shoe problems, get the right shoes FOR YOU, not what your friend who runs 15 hours a week tells you to get. There are obviously the well known brands, but I can speak from experience, the shoe that fits my foot is not necessarily the shoe that fits your foot. To make matters worse, there are makes and models within the different brands that vary so drastically that you wouldn’t think it was from the same brand.

So here is my tip: Go to a store and try some shoes on.

Comfort is key here, if they feel comfortable and are form a reputable brand you probably have a winner. You aren’t running the Cape Ultra Trail tomorrow, so a shoe that feels stable and comfortable will treat you just perfectly for runs up to an hour at a time. As you get into the sport you will probably have to get new shoes, old shoes are almost as bad as the wrng shoes, but by then you should have more of an idea about your running style and what you are wanting to get out of your shoes.

2 – Gear

We have a fascinating climate in the Cape that can easily give us 4 seasons in a day, you may have left your car in the sunshine but in the forest or up the mountain things could be a whole new kettle of fish. If you are doing something long, take something warm, I know it may seem like a mission or overkill, but when you enter the famous “table cloth” and figure out that its freezing cold, wet and windy, you will be happy you lugged a jacket up with you. If you are an after work runner, a headlamp might be a good idea, it gets mighty dark up in them mountains and this happens fairly quickly in Cape Town, especially if you are in a forest that the sun struggles to penetrate.

3 – Start off Slow

There is no need to sprint.. yet 🙂

If you are not a runner at all, jog the flats and downs and walk the ups. There is absolutely no problem with walking, almost everyone does it at some point. Don’t push yourself too hard or you wont enjoy it. The stronger and more comfortable you get the easier and more fun it will be and you will be able to go harder for longer.

4 – Watch the trail

The number one acute trail running injury that I see as a physiotherapist is the sprained ankle. You look up for just a second and whoops, you roll it out. The views are spectacular in nature I agree, but if you don’t have eyes under your feet perhaps stop and take a breathe to admire them rather than lose focus and end up limping off the trails. The trail has loose rocks, slippery roots and soft sand, way more technical than the boring flat of tar running (expect i suppose on some of our South African roads which could be just as treacherous sometimes).

5 –  Change your strides

Smaller, quick strides will aid you a bit better on the uneven ground of trails, a long gravel section or even downhill will let you lengthen your strides. The nice thing about trail running is this difference, from stepping up to short quick strides to long slower strides, these changes help to avoid the repetitive action that tar running has and thus avoids many of the overuse injuries that long hours on the tar can lead to. Also, it helps you become more stable and works different muscle groups so that you get an all round work out rather than using the same ol same ol muscles (I have managed to pull an arm muscle in a trail run before, I wasn’t even sure I used my arms).

 

6- Stretch

You don’t have to spend hours stretching, but it is always a good idea to get nicely warmed up, start off slow and after a couple of minutes do a quick stretch or two – the main muscles are your calves, hamstrings and quads. A quick 15-20s of each muscle and you can get on your way again.

7 – HAVE FUN!

Particularly in Cape Town, we have the most amazing settings for incredible runs, you can get lost in nature for even 30 minutes and be back in time for dinner. Go exploring, find your runners high and get muddy!