Most stress fractures for endurance athletes are the result of overuse, specifically a too fast increase in the amount or intensity of the activity. Ryan is absolutely right that adequate recovery is is vital in avoiding this type of injury. In addition, if you look at elite runners as an example, seldom do you see more than 15% to 20% of their workload at a high intensity. Secondly the amount of their running seldom increases more than 5% to 10% on a weekly basis. For less accomplished runners 5% is a better bet and reducing mileage every fourth week to improve recovery isn’t a bad idea. For those of us who are older a 10 day schedule rather that a week may be beneficial, though I must confess to still using a weekly schedule as my training guide! I have found that using what I learned as a runner and a coach has helped tremendously in avoiding overuse injuries as a hiker. Of course getting hurt from falling down is another matter, though I’m getting better at falling too!
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