High mileage can do weird things to your legs. And your brain.

Random tweaks. Lingering soreness. Oh and my favorite! The random stabby knee pain that pops up half way through a workout.

As a result, I've had several conversations with my knees about this.

And there were DEFINITILY times while was running 50 mpw regularly that I felt maybe mildly concerned that these aches and discomforts were becoming normal occurrences.

Because after a while, you start to get familiar with them.

No, not in a "running injury is a right of passage way". But in a way "hey, this is my body talking. It's being a chatty cathy."

I'll be the first to admit: this is actually a skill.

Because you can have two extremes.

• You can have a runner who ignores every red flag until an stress fracture "pops up out of nowhere!" (ok sometimes, it does feel like that).
• Or you have a moment as that runner who turns every twinge into an injury requiring immediate amputation.

My goal with this week's blog post: help you find that middle ground.

Because I've taken your most commonly asked questions that always seem to circulate and pop up around high mileage build and entering marathon training time. Like:

• can I run with a hamstring twinge that likes to live at 3/10? It's not spicy, but it's not nothing.
• And "if my legs feel this dead, is it just cumulative fatigue or is this a sign of a running injury starting?"
• Then there's also the classic: "I'm running all this mileage. Why are my legs to tired and why isn't this getting easier yet?"

That last one is a combo answer of time and...(go read the post to find out) ;)

No, I promise these answers are NOT just "take a rest day". "foam roll." "get a sports massage".

(if you like those, if those help, then please continue them!)

But I'm striving to get you actionable, physical-therapy-based, do-something!! answers.

I'm giving you the factoids that live in my brain like:

• the Exact 4 Step Dead Leg Checklist I take my runners through when we're trying to discern leg fatigue vs leg weakness vs running injury
• the calf exercises I use for myself and my clinic-patient-runners when calf muscles become annoyingly, persistently tight and unstretchable as high mileage weeks stack up
• and the actionable answer to "can I train through this or do I need to stop running?"

Sound good? Ok, let's go!

And if you have questions of your own that I didn't answer in the blog, hit reply to this email! I'm happy to help out :)

Dare to Train Differently,

Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit

P.S. no really, if you have a burning question like "my ankle has been niggly for 2 weeks, will it fall off?" hit me up. Email me. I love answering your questions!

Looking for MORE ways to work together?

• ​RUNNING RESCUE CALL: Save your run and your race. Work directly with me 1-on-1 at the first sign of an ache, niggle, or repeat running injury. We'll deep dive into the why behind your injury and create a personalized exercise program that gets you out of pain, keeps you running, and helps prepare you for race day!
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