Running in and of itself is a simple activity. All that's required is a pair of running sneakers, a shirt and a pair of shorts. All that you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. There's no rules on how fast you should go or how far. Everything's up to you. The simplicity of it all is one of the biggest reasons why I like the sport so much.
As with anything though, you can make running as complex as you want too. There's so many different types of running sneakers, clothing and gear to choose from that it'll make your wallet catch fire. There's so many different races to choose from that it's as exhausting as running a hill workout to think about them all. To add to the confusion there's thousands of different viewpoints on training, racing and how to treat injuries.
Through the years I've worn about every type of running clothing, tried many different types of shoes and spent a small fortune on running related tech. I've tinkered with my training and raced all distances up to the ultra. I've also self-treated myself, been evaluated by my doctor and seen a chiropractor for my running related injuries. I'm always open to trying new things and I've done a great job of making running much more complex than it needs to be.
For the past two years I've been suffering through nagging hamstring issues. It almost sidelined me last year completely. Just when I thought I had those issues licked I was delighted to discover that the ache didn't go away, it just moved into my hips. So for much of this training season I've been trying everything that I could to ease that hip pain. Extra stretching, medication and reductions in training were the name of the game. Up until this week I was starting to get concerned that this was going to shatter my hopes of running my ultras planned for the Fall. I was frustrated and tired of this pain in the butt, literally! I decided to give up and try something new, going back to basics and keeping it simple.
On one hand it's amusing to realize that a tennis ball and a bag of ice can solve an issue that's been bugging you for so long. But on the other hand it's frustrating to think that I was so stubborn that I wasn't willing to try something so inexpensive, so not technological. Amazing! Hopefully with a little more self-treatment and time my hip pain won't be a problem any more.
This week wasn't bad at all. The worst thing was jumping back into cross-training after a two and a half week hiatus. Good lord it's incredible how sore you can get after starting up again! I surprised myself with a decent 16 mile long run despite being so sore and wading through a torrential downpour while the sun was shining. I tried to surge every other mile and it wasn't pretty, but it worked. Good to know all of this hard training is paying off!
Hope your week was as productive! Have a great upcoming week and ride that lightning my friends...
For the past two years I've been suffering through nagging hamstring issues. It almost sidelined me last year completely. Just when I thought I had those issues licked I was delighted to discover that the ache didn't go away, it just moved into my hips. So for much of this training season I've been trying everything that I could to ease that hip pain. Extra stretching, medication and reductions in training were the name of the game. Up until this week I was starting to get concerned that this was going to shatter my hopes of running my ultras planned for the Fall. I was frustrated and tired of this pain in the butt, literally! I decided to give up and try something new, going back to basics and keeping it simple.
On one hand it's amusing to realize that a tennis ball and a bag of ice can solve an issue that's been bugging you for so long. But on the other hand it's frustrating to think that I was so stubborn that I wasn't willing to try something so inexpensive, so not technological. Amazing! Hopefully with a little more self-treatment and time my hip pain won't be a problem any more.
This week wasn't bad at all. The worst thing was jumping back into cross-training after a two and a half week hiatus. Good lord it's incredible how sore you can get after starting up again! I surprised myself with a decent 16 mile long run despite being so sore and wading through a torrential downpour while the sun was shining. I tried to surge every other mile and it wasn't pretty, but it worked. Good to know all of this hard training is paying off!
Hope your week was as productive! Have a great upcoming week and ride that lightning my friends...
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