Related to that last thought: Modern life should be considered a risk factor for running injuries. Driving for hours at a time, sitting slumped over a laptop, cocking your head to one side while on the phone, seldom moving through all planes of motion—these common ways of spending our days can set you up for injury by tightening and weakening your major muscle groups and throwing your body out of whack. One muscle therapist I know eventually figured out that a teen runner’s sudden cycle of injury stemmed from her texting habit! Excessive strain on her thumbs had thrown her shoulders out of alignment, which shifted the position of her hips when she ran, which led to muscular strains elsewhere in her legs.
I’m not saying to become a monk who avoids all trappings of modern life and is always thinking about running. But long-term, you’re going to better avoid the aches and pains of running if you’re conscious of how you spend the bulk of your time affects your running body. All the things you’ve heard about good posture when sitting at a desk or driving, taking frequent breaks from the computer, having your work at eye level so that you’re not straining to see or thrusting your head up or down and other matters of ergonomics become that much more important when you’re a twenty-first century runner.
From the physician-heal-thyself department, I say this as someone with a tendency toward horrible posture. The better I am during the workday about sitting with good alignment and taking short breaks every hour, the better I feel on my post-work run.