Whether the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run or 5K will be your first race or one of many, every runner can benefit from learning more about preventing injury, training through injuries, fueling for a race, and recovery. That’s why we are grateful for the support of MedStar Sports Medicine, and the educational seminars they are offering just for Cherry Blossom participants.
I attended the first seminar on injury prevention, and learned about the benefits of doing a dynamic warm-up and specific strength training exercises for runners. The next seminar on February 7th will discuss common running injuries and options for training through them. Find out more and register here.
Dynamic Warm Ups
The MedStar Spots Medicine physical therapists who led the first program gave us several tips for effective dynamic warm ups. They suggested spending about 15 minutes doing a variety of exercises that involve movement in all planes, such as:
- front/side leg swings
- calf raises
- arm circles
- knee circles/hurdlers
- walking lunges
- high knees/butt kicks
- skipping/bounding
- running backwards
They said your warm up should get your heart rate up and even cause you to break a sweat.
Strength Exercises For Runners
They also reviewed different strength exercises for runners of all levels, from beginner to intermediate to advanced.
They reviewed the exercises, demonstrated a few of them, and encouraged us to try them ourselves.
There’s a lot to be said for the basics!
I’ve been trying to put what I’ve learned into practice, and hope to be lining up at the start on April 2 strong and injury free!
You can sign up for the February 7th session here. You also will want to mark your calendars for the upcoming sessions:
Feb. 28 (6:30 to 7:30 p.m.) — Nutrition and Hydration for Every Runner
March 21 (6:30 to 7:30 p.m.) — Post-Race Recovery and Injury Management
All seminars are offered at MedStar Health at Lafayette Centre, 1120 20th St., NW, Building 1, Washington, DC 20036