So, it’s the New Year and you thought it would be wonderful to get it started with the “100 runs in 100 days challenge”. Sounds like a great idea to begin the season with a bang by establishing that super run base. But how do you avoid the common scenario of breaking out as the Chinese New Year super-stud and end up as the subsequent Easter train wreck?

You have to establish your biomechanical fitness. Biomechanical fitness, you might say? Biomechanical fitness is the ability of your musculoskeletal system (bones, tendons, muscles) to withstand the demands of increased training load and stress. But why is this any different than regular fitness? That, my friend, is the crux of the problem and the source of so many early spring aches and pains that derail or delay your training goals.

Whether your problem is ITB syndrome or Achilles Tendonitis ("AT"), quite often the source of your "running" pain is cycling-equipment related.

In nearly all of my high volume athletes that experience Achilles issues, the root cause can be traced back to their pedal system. What follows are excerpts from a common thread.