Pain in the butt...well, it's starting to get better

About the time leading up to the Arches Run at the end of July, only a week before the Nike Half, I noticed that my glutes were really bothering me. They've never really been a problem before, but I definitely noticed discomfort in them for a couple of weeks before the Arches Run and it really did affect my running. They were very tight and almost impossible to stretch out. I guess you never realize the effect certain muscle groups have on your running until they start to hurt. I didn't know what to do to alleviate the discomfort. I stepped up my foam roller regimen and increased my "tennis ball against the wall exercises" (which are great ways, but very intense, to put pinpoint pressure on those hard to reach and stretch muscles) . Although I was doing these things every day, the discomfort didn't seem to dissipate.

So I decided, maybe I should go and get a sports massage. Maybe that will break up a bunch of the tight tissue and will allow me to start for a base in which my muscles were a lot looser and much easier to stretch. So I took my own advice and had a sports massage at Eastside Massage Therapy on 7/27/07. I made sure to tell the therapist that I didn't need any work done on my upper body, but to use most of of the hour to concentrate on my glutes, hips and legs. Although it was a bit taxing, the massage loosened up my muscles a great deal and allowed me to stretch a lot deeper than I was able to a couple weeks before.

After the massage, I make sure to stretch out my glutes both before and after running. I don't want them to revert to what they were a month or two ago. Even though my glutes were much looser, there was still discomfort when I ran. I realized that the feeling in my glutes was very much like the feeling I had in my legs a few years ago (a dull constan pain/discomfort - I felt the need to flex the muscles in order to make them feel better). My quads were diagnosed as being weak so I figured that there was a chance that my glutes were weak and that they needed some strengthening. While I do some light strength training on my quads and hamstrings every week, I never do anything strictly for my glutes and I guess this is someone's way of telling me to do some glute specific strength excercises. So I went online to find out a couple exercises to strengthen my problem area. I have now incorporated some simple exercises that I can do as part of my regular routine (I found the hip extensions and the bridge exercises pretty helpful). In addition, I found out that one good side effect of strengthening your glutes is that it also opens up your hip flexors considerably. Since I've been regularly doing exercises to strengthen my glutes, I've found that my hip flexors are tremendously looser and more flexible than I can ever remember (at least in the last 3 or 4 years) and I am able to lunge so that my knee almost touches the floor. Whether it the foam roller, tennis ball routine, the massage or the strenghthening exercises, things seem to be moving in a positive direction. Now I just have to keep them all up.

Below are some sites for exercise ideas...

http://exercise.about.com/od/butthipsthighs/tp/butt.htm
http://www.shapefit.com/butt-exercises-glute-kickbacks.html
http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/lower-back-injuries.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/stars/springtrack2000/training/10strengthtraining.html
http://www.coretherapy.com/health_news/articles_feature_exercise_the_bridge.html
http://www.trainwithmeonline.com/exercise_161_Single_Leg_Glute_Bridge_on_Bench.html
http://www.workoutz.com/exercise/supine_hip_raise_stability_ball
http://www.bodyresults.com/E2gluteusMedius.asp
http://bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?MainMuscle=Glutes

Dazed and Confused

After the tough race that I had at the Nike Half Marathon - I woke up with a pretty bad headache the next day. I thought it was just some after effects of the race so I thought nothing of it. However, the headache (kind of a "hangover" feel with pressure and slight dizziness) continued and it became hard to concentrate. My eyes also started feeling the pressure. In addition to my head bothering me, I found that I have been feeling pressure on top of and around my eyes. This was starting to make me a little nervous. What was causing this - was my vision getting slightly worse, too much time in the sun with no eye protection, eye strain, continued stress about what is causing this. Rest doesn't seem to help - sometimes it's worse when I wake up from a nap or rest. It seems to be bad in the morning when I wake and lasts throughout the day.

One of the reasons this was bumming me out was how it is affecting my running. I've been feeling "off" since before the half and continuing to today - almost two weeks since the half. I find myself much less motivated to run these days and it is a little disappointing. I kind of expected this to happen the year after I run the marathon - a letdown was inevitable. The same thing happened in 2003 after I ran the 2002 NYC marathon. It confirms the fact that I probably can't do a marathon 2 years in a row. It takes me a while to get my head clear and to get mentally and physically prepared to run a marathon. I ran the Nike half this year but it just hasn't felt the same. I'm not doing as many races this year as last year. I know you can't stay motivated to run at a high level all the time but I just want to get my "spark" back a little bit. I know it takes time. Evenutually you click in a race and you start to feel back to normal and excited to run again. That can take weeks or months or a year. After my first marathon, it took a couple years to get fully back to enjoying running and racing again. I feel like I am just going through the motions this year. Other than the half a couple of weeks ago, I haven't run a race since June - the Father's Day 5 miler. I usually like to do some of the smaller races just to give me some confidence that my speed is still there and to keep my motivation up. Unfortunately, I just haven't felt the need to do as many of them this year. Maybe I need a little break from running - some time off to get me recharged. I'm excited for all of my friends that are training for marathons. It's tough not to be training along side them since I enjoy it but I am so glad that I decided not to do one this year. I'm not ready to go through the mental and physical rigors that training for a marathon entails. I will do another one some day, I'm just not sure when yet. I'd love to do an international marathon - a great way to see and explore a city that I haven't been to before. I will definitely be volunteering for the NYC marathon this year at the Flyer Power Gel Station. It is a great way to stay involved in the marathon and be a part of the excitement and electricity the day brings. I told myself that I will run the Queens Half although it is a little bit of a struggle getting myself to train for it. I wanted to try and erase the tough memory of the Nike half going into next year. Maybe I'll try to run with someone for the first half of the race so I don't go out too fast and burn myself out.

Later.

Nike Half Marathon - 8/5/07

This one was definitely a struggle for me - probably the worst I have felt in a race in a very long time. Although I am not training for a marathon this year, I was putting in the long runs and was hoping for a good race. Training was going well up until a couple of weeks ago when my glutes starting to bother me and I was just feeling "off" - not sure it was due to the weather or what but I was getting a little nervous going into the half. The race started right at 7:00 and we were off. I was feeling pretty good at the start of the race, but I realized only a few miles in that I was going way too fast. Pacing is something that I definitely need to work on. I've gone out too fast in the beginning and then struggled during three of my last four long races - the Runner's World Half in April 2006, the NYC Marathon in Nov 2006 and the Nike Half this weekend. I can usually tell after a few miles if I am going to have a good race or not and I knew early that it was probably not going to end well for me. I was trying to slow down in the Park but unfortunately I kept up my quick pace. I was hoping that I would settle down after I left the Park and went onto 7th Ave but it was at the point that I was starting to struggle a bit. By the 7th or 8th mile I was hitting every fluid station which is not a good sign. As we made the left turn on the West Side Trail, I just kept on telling myself to hang on for the rest of the race . For the first time, I found myself walking on a few occasions as the fluid stops came up and for 20 or 30 seconds afterward. Somehow I told myself that I had to finish - this is where your mental strength starts to get tested. It's incredible what you can convince your body to do even when it is feeling strained. I was glad that I was able to realize early on that it was going to be a hard day and was able to convince myself to scale back and try again another day. The finish line was a glorious sight. My race was finally over. Considering how I felt during the race, I was quite happy with my time of 1:52:03. My fast first half gave a me a good cushion for my struggles in the second half. It was great to see all of the Flyer volunteers handing out the medals at the finish line. Once I got my goody bag, water and Gatorade I was able to relax and swap stories with JW, AH, JM and NMc. Hats off to the all of the Flyers who had a great race. I'm going to take it easy for a few days and let my body rest up and hopefully the memory of the second half of this race will start to fade away.