Let’s talk about why it’s important to vary your running surfaces. As runners we often become creatures of habit and run the same routes on the same surfaces week after week.
Depending on the type of mileage and surfaces you run on, doing the same thing over and over again may result in overuse injuries or muscle stagnation.
However, large studies haven’t yet shown a connection between running injuries and whether you routinely run on hard or soft surfaces.
As we run the muscles and tendons act as shock absorbers as your foot lands and then they release energy during the push off phase. The surface that you run on and your running shoes (or lack) also function to absorb and release energy.
The body takes the information from your previous footstrikes (and what your brain knows from experience) and adjusts muscle contractions before the next time your foot hits the ground. Interestingly the body pre-tunes the muscles before your first step onto a new surface. Continue Reading →