Training for a half or full marathon puts a lot of stress on your body. If you don’t take care of it, it will break down and injury will follow. Here are a few ways that you can injury-proof your body for the training season:

What you put on your feet could make or break your training season. Getting the proper footwear is essential for success. Buying the cheap or stylish shoes will back fire on you. Get your shoes properly fitted at a running store. Purchasing good fitted pair of shoes will take a lot of stress off your feet and the rest of your body.

Runners put on hundreds of miles on their bodies each year. Just like a car, your body needs a regular tune up to make sure it runs smoothly. Massage and foam rolling are easy and necessary ways of keeping the muscles from getting tight and possibly leading to a dysfunction.

One area that many runners fall short in is cross training. Cross training keeps your body balanced and your muscles activated. Glute and core strengthening is a must for all runners. Those muscles are very underutilized while running and tend to shut off. By strengthening those areas, you can ward off annoying injuries that can sideline you during your training season.

Many runners just lace up and head out the door to run. However, taking a few minutes to properly warm-up can be quite beneficial for your body. A quick warm-up can be as easy as foam rolling for a few minutes to wake up the muscles and start increasing the blood flow. Adding a few dynamic stretches like lunges, knee hugs and leg swings will also help get the body moving. To cool down, grab your foam roller again to massage your legs. Follow that with some static stretching to reduce your chances of soreness the next day. Taking a few minutes to take care of your body will pay dividends in the long run.

This part of the training program can sometimes be the hardest. However, everybody needs days off during their training to recover. Overtraining will cause injury and make you lose time. In your program, plan in a day per week to rest. Your body will thank you.