Nothing can stop a runner from achieving his target other than an uncalled injury that can keep him down for quite a long period.And while you might think you are doing all the right things but overdoing the right things might do more harm without realizing the ill-effects.
Your training should have a structured approach and be progressive in terms of distance and speed while you listen to your body as it never lies,it tells you when to go slow to avoid falling into the injury trap.
As you settle down with getting in sync with your body and listen to it you also need to follow certain things to keep yourself strong and steady in this carnival of #100 days of running.
1.Strength training is the way to go.
Only running regularly and running strong is not going to help in the long run as your muscles need regular conditioning and that is why most of the training plans include cross-training as runners also need to focus on building a strong core and leg strength to build up the endurance needed to log long mileage but its easy to neglect the vital muscles in the process.
We should ensure to strengthening the the hip abductors and hip extensors.
2.Combine Foam Rolling with proper stretching.
We should stretch before the run and also after the run which is termed as pre and post run stretching but sometimes due to time constraint we tend to skip it and it might be okay to certain extend if you are doing a proper session of foam rolling which has become more popular in the recent times due to the benefits of scientific conditioning of the muscles as some people might not be doing it properly or in the wrong areas which might be compensated to an extent by foam rolling properly so you can incorporate the practice of foam rolling to ensure recovery.
3.Go meet a doctor before you are officially injured.
We do not consult the doctor till we cant bear the pain,which is the point of slow return as you have already got yourself in trouble and the recovery would take a while before you can get back to the tracks so its better to get to a therapist or a doctor to avoid the injury in the making and since our muscles go through a very rough time while we are under training and a therapist can correct what you might be doing wrong in the training and avid future injuries.
4.Love your Knees.
Improper posture,poor stability and imbalances may lead to injuries in the knees and if the muscles as weak,then the body puts pressure of the other parts and may also affect your gait which might lead you to injuries in the way.You can incorporate exercises like single leg squats,hops and side lying squats to strengthen the knees for the long haul.
5. Get your training sorted.
Its very easy for runners to get into the groove of choosing comfortable speed and routes while we prepare for our running events but adding variations might help you reduce a chance of injury.
Variation on the training along with variance in surface and terrain might help in the overall development of your muscles that have been neglected in order to stay injury free and prevent imbalances all together.
Wish you a happy # 100 days of running.