HOW TO MANAGE THE PRE-RACE NIGGLE
I am sure many of you have had that heart sink moment in the last few weeks before a race where a new pain crops up or an old injury rears its ugly head.
More often than not, these things appear as if out of nowhere and then don’t cause any issues in the race and disappear afterwards as if they were never there. Why does this happen? The reality is often multifactorial but a key contributing factor is often pre-race stress.
Now, another thing to note is that coming into a Taper, you may have hit peak training volume/intensity which brings with it fatigue, reduced time for nutrition focus, perhaps reduced sleep or sleep quality. All of these factors can influence the onset of pain.
If you find yourself in this position, what should you do about it;
Don’t panic
I have often found the forced reduction in training ends up leading to proper recovery and great race results!!
The training is done and fitness gains here are minimal so you are better to focus on settling your symptoms down than trying to complete your training plan.
If you are outside of your taper, try cross training to reduce some of the load
Control the controllable: sleep, nutrition, hydration
If you are concerned, speak to a health professional
Meet the Author: Sophie Tabor (Physiotherapist)
Having Sophie onboard has been transformative to the service that we can provide our clients here at SFE. Our S&C and Physiotherapy teams can work in synergy to ensure you get the best outcome possible. We all know that injury is rarely a linear path with its natural ebb’s and flow’s, yet we are able to manage setbacks quickly and effectively, giving you the support, guidance and accountability that is needed.