High Mileage Running – Muscle and Tendon Health.

I love running. I have been running, at the time of writing this, for 37 years. It’s my main daily fix. I am a nicer person if I have had a run, which is why I generally run 7 days a week. The good news, according to a recent study is that this will have had a positive effect on the state of my muscles and tendons.

So, these are some of the known benefits of running:

• It burns calories, lots of them. More, in fact, than any other form of mainstream exercise. That means that you can eat more, and this is good news if you like to eat.
  
• It reduces the risk of chronic heart disease. I have been told dozens of times by well-meaning people that they heard of a runner/cyclist/swimmer who died of a heart attack. So, yes, be responsible. Get your yearly medical done, go for an ECG and get some professional medical advice. At the same time, as I put on my stoic cap, realize that we are all going to die. So, you might as well live your life to the max before the inevitable.
• You will have stronger lungs.
• You will reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. (Diet will obviously play a big role in this too).
• Running is good for your bones. The impact, that you won’t get from cycling or swimming, will keep your bones way stronger than those of a non-runner.
  

We can now add to the list: Running, (especially high mileage running) will make your muscles and tendons more efficient. These findings were reported in a paper written by Jasper Verheul and Mark Lake from Liverpool John Moores University, and Adam Clansey from Nottingham Trent University.

Two groups of runners were tested. The first group ran more than 50 km per week and the other group less than 16 km per week.

The basics of their findings are as follows:

• Your body adapts to the strain of running.
• Adaptations take place over time.
• Both tendons and muscles adapt to propel you more efficiently forward.
• The more efficient you become, the less hard your muscles have to work.
• Speed work will have a dramatic effect on strengthening these structures. (It is important to note though that you need to have proper base training in place before embarking on a program of speed work).
• Speed work and higher mileage meant that the leg muscles in the more highly trained group worked less hard over the same distances run.
• More highly trained runners had more ‘springy’ lower leg tendons. Go and watch elite runners go by. They look so light and make running look so easy.
  
• The only way that you are going to get enough time on your legs is to incorporate LSD – or, long slow distance training. I personally feel very strongly about heart rate-based training.

So, get out there. Run slow and run long from time to time. Be consistent. Things will get easier. Your muscles and tendons will adapt as will your brain-body communication.

Regards,
Mike Roscoe.