Opt for shorts with an internal liner that provide the necessary support instead of wearing cotton underwear along with shorts. Pick shorts made of materials that facilitate quick evaporation of the sweat, especially from sensitive areas, so as to avoid the chaffing of skin.

- On hot days, wear little clothing as sweat will otherwise accumulate on the body. The looser the clothes worn, the better, as they allow ventilation that will help you get rid of the body heat generated, allowing you to stay comparatively fresh during the run. Humid days are a different league as sweat will not evaporate as easily on humid days.

- Come winter, and you will want to dress up in layers to keep your body heat. The air in woolens and that trapped between layers together provide insulation. A good warm up is the best start to a run on a cold day.

There are precautionary measures to be taken when getting dressed for a run. Often, when your clothing absorbs sweat, the garments become gritty and rough, and the rubbing of the fabric against your nipples and other sensitive areas will cause rashes on the skin. Thus, you will want to place band aids over your nipples, or apply lubricants like Vaseline to avoid this condition.

The best precautionary measure is to stick to wearing garments of materials like polypropylene that readily transfer sweat on the body to external factors. You may also want to don long shorts to cover exposed skin and wear garments that place themselves as a physical barrier between the thighs that can chaff when rubbed against each other. Follow dressing guidelines even during training so as to avoid confusion when heading onto a track for a race or a marathon.

Preventing overuse injuries
1. Every workout, every run, and every race should be followed by a good stretch.
2. Running on grass or dirt is an excellent deterrent. If the athlete must run on concrete or pavement, the sidewalk and concrete are the best places to pace, and the gutters, where uneven terrain lurks, should be avoided.
3. Gradual construction on the working schedule is the key to improvement. Sudden training leaps will defeat the average athlete.
4. Warm up and cool down before and after each training.
5. Finally, but most importantly, wear the best running shoes for the individual type of foot.
These kinds of prevention techniques are the most methodical defence against injury. However, when injuries do creep up on an athlete the most effective solutions come from proper treatment following early detection. Most overuse injuries start with a slight pain at the beginning of a run, which usually disappears after a mile or two. Sometimes, the morning after, runners will notice a slight discomfort in a centralized location. A light walking session will help alleviate this tightness.
Overuse injuries can be exacerbated by longer and harder training sessions, increasing the odds of the injury maturing and becoming debilitating. Every runner must stick to the recommended training schedule to avoid these kinds of situations. Excessive training will only increase the chances of an injury. It cannot improve one’s time.

Treatment of overuse injuries

When the first sign of an overuse injury such as a mild pain or discomfort is noticed, it should be paid attention as soon as possible.
1. Ice should be applied to an overused area immediately after a run, and three to four other times during the day.
2. Anti-inflammatory medicines such as Ibuprofen or Advil are sold over the counter, and should be taken to help slow down pain and swelling.
3. An athlete should try to determine what caused the injury (An increase in the length of the track, poor terrain, or poor form)
4. The duration and intensity of training should be reduced until all signs of injury are gone.
5. An alternative exercise schedule must be built gradually so that an equal amount of time is spent running and exercising. If possible, training at the same vigorous level of exertion as running to achieve aerobic benefit will help maintain the runner’s level of cardiac health. The exertion level should be as close as possible to the regular running mileage in order to provide a psychological replacement for the running habit. Although some fitness is lost, it will make returning to running much easier. Bicycling is an excellent workout to utilize when taking steps to prevent knee injuries, since it minimizes the stress on the knee and builds the quadriceps.

Overtraining

Overtraining is exactly that, training the body more than it can handle. The body can only handle so much training without the proper amount of rest. A runner should always have the proper amount of recovery compared to the amount of training the body is being put through. When any of the common symptoms of overtraining appear, pay close attention to the body. These symptoms include soreness, increased heart rate, weight loss, decreased performance, abnormal sleep patterns, and even anxiety.
Increased resting heartbeat is one of the common overtraining illnesses. The best way to track a resting heart rate is to conduct tests at the same time and with identical conditions each day. This task should be taken care of first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed. If the resting heart rate begins to rise over an unhealthy level, a physician may be needed to give proper advice.

Foot – Planter Fasciitis:
• Sharp pains bridging the heel and the middle of the foot will spike at the beginning of running exercises. Further aggravation of this injury will increase the pain until it is felt constantly.
• The plantar fascia can be torn and degraded through highly repetitive motion. This thick tissue connects the knees to the toes and can inflame when overused.
• The Achilles tendon must be strengthened and regularly stretched in order to stop this disorder from worsening.
• The use of proper shoes and adherence to softer running surfaces is the best defence against planter fasciitis.

Heel – Achilles Tendinitis:
• Symptoms: The achilles tendon is the large cord-like structure on the back of the heel that can be pinched. The pain is usually just above the tendon where it connects to the back of the heel. The pain is more noticeable when the foot is partially flexed, and when lifting the heel as if standing on the tip of the toes.
• Over-worn shoes, over-pronation, and overly uneven terrain are all root causes of this painful problem. Cutting down on these three conditions will eliminate Achilles tendinitis.
• Plenty of rest and relaxation, along with the use of a heel lift and even anti-inflammatory drugs are the best treatment.
• Again, the same preventive measures apply. Running on soft ground and wearing proper shoes for the feet will help defeat this malady.

Stress Fractures:
• Local soreness or soreness to the touch around the bone in question is the most common symptom.
• Stress fractures are thin cracks that appear within a bone when too much pressure is repeatedly placed on that bone. X-ray examinations and bone scans are the only way these fractures can be diagnosed. Without early detection, these small fractures can lead directly to serious breaks and even permanent bone misalignment.
• Four or even Eight weeks away from training is really the only effective treatment for this illness.
• All of the aforementioned preventative measures apply

Running injury – Calf Strain
• Dull to sharp pain around the back of the lower leg is the first and most notable symptom of this disorder.
• Another important treatment is consistent icing with complete rest for 3 to 4 days and gradual running distance increase. Deep tissue massage of the calf region will help clear up this issue.

Shin Splints:
• The tibia should exhibit pain and tenderness along the lower leg and around the inside. This pain is recurrent and will flare up sharply at the beginning of runs and shortly after they have been completed.
• Over-pronation and a habit of running through the same terrain, causing one leg to be forced higher than the other, are the most common causes of this disorder.
• Stretching and flexing of the leg muscles will prevent this injury from ever occurring. It is especially important to work the lower leg muscles until they have been fully relaxed.

Knee injury – Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
• Symptoms: A slight pain behind the kneecap, which becomes more painful when running up hill or on stairs is the most common symptom.
• Some causes are abnormal movement of the kneecap across the knee joint, mostly caused by the foot striking the ground and rolling hard onto the inside border of the foot.
• An effective treatment is to wear an elastic knee brace while doing strengthening exercises of the quadriceps muscle. This will allow the knee to move slightly but not excessively.
• Prevention: Wear good shoes with extra support on the inside borders this will prevent from further occurrences.

Knee Injury – Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS):
• Common symptoms include pain and tenderness on the outer kneecap with a sore area just above the joint.
• The iliotibial band, a thick muscle connecting the hip joint to the outer thigh and connected to the fibula, lies across the femur at the point it forms the knee joint. Flexing this muscle and extending the knee causes it to rub against the knee, which will eventually cause irritation.
• Consistent stretching improves the condition of the band.
• Runners who stick to unlevel terrain tend to find this injury creeping up on them. The best preventative measure is to stick to controlled running tracks and even spaces.

• Quadricepses = Cycling, swimming
• Ankles = Swimming
• Low back = Swimming
• Buttocks = Swimming
• Hips = Cycling
• Shins = Cycling

Please note that cross training will not have the same capacity to improve running because they all use different muscle groups and training the specific muscle groups is important to performance success. To achieve optimal improvement in a specific activity, the best thing to do is that activity itself. Runners should run, cyclists should bike, and swimmers should swim.

Cross training also assists in times of injury helping to sustain endurance and fitness achieved before the injury. While training for marathons, the odds of being injured rise every time the runner goes out to run, and getting injured is physically traumatic for the body. If training has to stop completely, to allow time for an injury to heal properly, this can also be mentally traumatic. Most veteran runners become accustomed to the daily routine and when they get injured it all changes. This is where cross training comes in. Cross training uses a different style of activity to train the same parts of the body.

There are different activities that can be done if an injury arises. Finding one that works the same muscles and gets the heart rate up without adding extra strain or tension to the existing injury can be difficult. To get the most out of cross training try cross-country skiing, water running or even a stepping machine. They both use the same muscles as running and they both can help achieve a particular target heart rate. With water running over the body, it will feel weightless. This will help with the pain of the injury as well. Cycling does not work the same muscle groups, and, as such, should be a choice only if it is a priority to enhance one’s cardio respiratory fitness. Doing some cross training is better than doing none at all. Risking the loss of everything is what waits without any cross training.

When doing cross training activities, do not do them for the same distance. Train for the same amount of time. Small breaks may need to be taken between training sessions if the target heart rate cannot be reached. For example, if the runner needs to cross train for forty minutes, the time of his daily run, he may need to break that up throughout the day into smaller workouts. Increase the duration of the training slowly until the total time can be reached continuously.

Cross training helps to loosen up muscles that have been worked hard. A short bike ride or a swim helps to recover from a long run the previous day and helps the muscles safely warm up prior to a run as well. Other usages for cross-country training can be found on poor weather days, when running is not always a good idea.

Cross training may also be beneficial to the runner in situations of overtraining. Of course, if the program is being followed carefully, overtraining should not occur, but if it does, switch to a different form of training for a while rather than just stop altogether. Reduce the specific stress on muscles by performing a different activity, while still benefiting from the new activity. A runner might switch to swimming or cycling, both of which maintain the cardio respiratory system but also significantly reduce the trauma to the body in general.

The Warm-Up and Cool-Down

The warm-up for lifting weights is very similar to the warm-up for running. Smaller weights should be used to warm up at around ten to fifteen repetitions. This will allow the muscles to warm up and loosen. The cool-down is similar to the warm-up in reverse, with some stretching and relaxation exercises.

The Workout

The general rule about weight lifting is heavy weights with few reps build strength and bulk and smaller weights with many reps increase muscular endurance. 10 to 15 repetitions multiplied three times should be performed where the last set should be done with the greatest amount of weight. Thirty seconds of rest should follow the first set and include some stretches to keep the muscles and joints loose and relaxed. Every workout should start with a very small weight. Gradual increases in weight are recommended until ten to fifteen repetitions can be done for three sets. Following this, another increase in weight will re-start the cycle, allowing the training athlete’s muscles to grow and adapt to the increasing resistance.

Final Note

The muscle groups that are most important to the runner are the calf (gastrocnemius and soleus), hips (gluteus maximus), thigh (quadriceps and hamstrings), abdominal, lower back, shoulders (pectoralis major, deltoids, latissimus dorsi), and the arms (biceps and triceps). Special mention should be made regarding to core muscles, the abdomen and the lower back. Many athletes suffer from some type of lower back problem, as running and cycling are hard on the back, particularly if the supporting structures are not well developed. The muscles of the abdomen and the low back are critical to maintaining proper structural alignment in the back so that back problems are less likely to occur.

In order to find one’s bearings and start visualizing in the right way, a memory can be used as the seed. Remembering a satisfying athletic achievement, or for experienced runners, a previous marathon conquest, will help place the mind in the correct time and place. Using these images repetitively generates a kind of second nature attraction to the feelings garnered by a good long run. It is something like seeing an engaging commercial over and over again. The most emotional images are most effective, and visualizing them more than once can help bring out a feeling of strong ambition, which a powerful positive motivator for most people. These techniques can even be used to combat lethargy and frustration, which plague many runners when injuries strike or training becomes arduous.

Using these visualization techniques often will build the efficiency and effectiveness of all the skilful and carefully crafted training that is in practice. With visualization, the mind can become trained to perform at its very best, which maximizes the effectiveness of physical fitness and disciplined form. In the end, all of the complicated visualization techniques that one can use are based on creating a positive attitude. As it is said, “seeing is believing!”