Congratulations! You’re Motivated! That could be a problem.

If you’re reading this then there is a good chance you fit into one of two categories: either you are a long time runner and you’re combing the internet looking for a training tip, or you just purchased the Nike+ system as part of your 2008 Resolution plan. In either case, you’re motivated enough to take the time to learn more about running and there is no doubt that when you go for a run you’ll be motivated to work hard and give 100%. Problem is, your eager motivation could become a problem if it manifests itself in a running injury in 2008, rather than that first half-marathon that you’ve been planning or that 5k PR.

The reason that your motivation might be a problem has to do with how the human body adapts to training. There is a simple principle in human physiology, developed by Hans Selye, called the General Adaptation Syndrome. The principle simply says that the human body, once stressed, can and often does adapt to the stress if - and only if - there is ample time for the body to recover and rejuvenate. When the human in question has adequate time to recover then the beautiful change occurs as the person has made an adaptation. This phenomenon is often referred to as Supercompensation; in running lingo we’d call it “getting fit.” Simple, right? But as Thelonious Monk said, “Simple ain’t easy” and the problem for all endurance athletes is that the rate at which your heart and lungs can improve is faster than the rate at which your bones, joints, tendons and muscles can improve. As my friend and peer Mike Smith likes to say, “metabolic changes take place faster than structural changes.” And that is the problem - the motivated runner who starts the New Year full of great expectations may find that two or three weeks into training they feel good running, yet they have a nagging injury they can’t seem to shake. Come February 1st, the runner may be unable to run.

So what’s a runner to do? Simple. Engage in more general strength activities in your first 4 to 8 weeks of running and be willing to trust that this type of work will lay the foundation for an injury-free 2008. So what are General Strength exercises? Lunges, body squats, core exercises, medicine ball work or core exercises on a Swiss Ball (some call it a Physio-Ball) are all examples of General Strength exercises. In contrast, Olympic lifting and Plyometics would be considered Specific Strength exercises. Now, I’m sure many of you are thinking, “I want to run and I would much rather be outside running than doing exercises in the gym.” I completely agree, yet the problem is this: 1, 2 or 3 months from now you are capable of doing such a good jump improving your fitness through running that you’ll start to run faster, yet structurally you’re ill-prepared to run faster, and you may get hurt. Or, you might have an a-symmetry to begin with - one that might be “corrected” with some general strength work. You go through the first few weeks of the New Year following your training plan, running daily, yet you are at a high risk of getting hurt because the simple a-symmetry may manifest itself as a serious injury.

By engaging in a General Strength program in the first weeks of 2008, you give yourself a fantastic chance of running more and running faster because your chance of injury will decrease. That leaves one thing left to do: you’ll need to VALUE this work in the same way that you value your running; you need to look at your General Strength as an integral, even non-negotiable, part of your running. Simple, yet far from easy, for most runners who have always viewed the latest cross-training vogue exercise with suspicion (as they should, in my humble opinion). But General Strength is different, because it’s enabling you to improve your body’s structural ability to handle running while you’re improving your body’s metabolic ability to run fast.

Coach Jay Johnson will be answering questions in our weekly “Q&A with Coach Jay” section. Send him your training questions at CoachJay@nike.com.