@ Lunch it was off to the pool. We did:
400 WU
6 x 200 main set, descending on 3
3 x 100 drill
100 CD
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2000 total
For the 200's, I went 3:26, 3:21, 3:15, 3:35, 3:26, 3:11. I thought my heart was going to explode on that last 200. It was a good workout and a taste of what pain is. Oh, its gonna get worse soon :)
Then after work, I went to see a Physical Therapist about my knee. My knee has been getting better, but that is not good enough. I wanted to know WHY it hurt. So the PT had me lie on my back and she turned my legs inwards and outwards. Whe she turned them inwards I felt my knee and yelped. She suddenly had that look of, "Oh. I know what it is."
It hurts because I am out of alignment. My right quad is super tight which means my left hamstring is super tight and my pelvis is not totally level. So it is NOT joint/ligament/tendon/non muscular. PHEW! That is a huge relief!
So the PT went to work on my legs and it turned out to be a massage. This was no "fluff" massage as she put it. She had me gripping the table in agony! haha! She had her forearm going across the meat of the quads and her finger burried deep into the hamstrings. She kept laughing at how inflexible I am. Yes, I know I am inflexible. Well, the inflexibility is starting to mess with my running, so no more ignoring it. I am now the proud owner of a foam roller and I have homework to do in regards to stretching.
I am looking forward to the bruise on my leg tomorrow AM. ;)Has anyone ever used a foam roller before? Do they really hurt that bad?
You can control the pain by putting more or less of your weight on the roller. Good luck! glad its just tightness and not muscular.
ReplyDeleteYes! But in a hurts so good kind of way...
ReplyDeleteYou know, if I had a nickel for every time a PT told me or someone else that they were out of alignment I could retire a very rich woman. I mean, come on! Show me one person that is perfectly symmetrical. Not a big fan of PT's, I always feel worse after leaving them and never better.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I LOVE my foam roller. I have managed some ITB issues by using it regularly to the point where I don't really feel it anymore. It hurts at first, but keep with it, you wont be sorry. I've also started doing some trigger point work with a ball on my calves to ward off some PF, also painful but it works.
Btw, there was a study done (I think I saw the article in the Times) that showed the most efficient and faster runners were the most inflexible ones, the ones with the tightest hamstrings. Weird, I know.
You need to pick up the book Core Performance by Mark Verstegen. It is more of a core strengthening program, but he advocates some serious work on flexibility to improve your performance. You can pick it up on Amazon. I may have an extra copy at the house if you want it Jon.
ReplyDeleteFoam rollers do hurt if you are doing it right but the pain is worth it. No Meat Athlete did a great post on foam rollers and I reference it pretty often: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/foam-rolling/
ReplyDeleteGood luck!