For the last several weeks, my back has felt much better, since injuring it in October of last year. I know that I keep talking about this injury, but I can confidently say that this will probably be one of the last times.
My treatment, which consisted of chiropractic care, active release technique and general strength, core and mobility exercises has been working its magic. Not only has it been helping me to heal, it is changing how my body functions.
Prior to the addition of these exercises, I used to feel like I would wake up with a different body every day. Because of the various muscle tightness, weakness, and imbalances, I was always torqued in one way or the other.
People would ask me if I was limping and I would say “yes”, but it wasn’t because I was in pain, it was because my pelvic rotation made my left leg function shorter than the right. Picture Frankenstein walking–without the arms out.
In the past, once an injury healed, I had a tendency to stop doing the things that got me over the injury (chiropractic, massage, stretching), and of course, you guessed it, I got injured again. If it was not the same injury, it was a different one. It is so importatant to do the ”little things” and to do them all the time. The little things are those things that keep you healthy.
They could be massage, chiropractic, dynamic stretching, nutrition, basically anything that keeps you feeling good on the roads and trails. If you need to strengthen your feet, then strengthen them. If you need to work on your form, then work on it.
Make the commitment to yourself that you are going to put in the time and the effort necessary for you to stay healthy and reach your running goals in 2013.
For me, that means lots of general strength, mobility and core work. For you, it may be something similar or completely different. Whatever it is, don’t set yourself up to fail by not doing the things that you know will help you succeed.
These things become increasingly important as your training cycle goes on. Let’s face it, you are trying to run longer and run faster and with that comes added strain on your body–no getting around that.
The more mileage and intensity you do, the closer attention must be paid to signals that are out of the realm of your “normal” feeling. If you have an ache here or there, don’t look at it as something that is “minor” and it will just go away. Treat it anyway, even if that treatment involves cross training or resting a day or two.
Don’t be your own worst enemy!
Happy, Healthy Running
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