The last nine weeks following the Colfax Marathon, I've spent healing my injured hip and groin muscles. All of my momentum steered towards the REVEL Denver Marathon on August 17. And while my hip and groin are slowly improving, I can't handle more than 5 miles each day. Each week I hope I can build the miles but then that finicky pain sneaks its way back into my core and I remain humbled. Today I decided to be realistic and I dropped out. REVEL has the best refund policy I know and I only took a $10 hit in the end. Honestly, I am disappointed and mad at my body but I need to move forward.
For over a month I've seen a physical therapist twice a week. Simply put, I have a weak butt. My core, leg, and arm muscles are quite strong, but my glutes haven't been holding their end of the weight. Apparently, the gluteus medius should do most of the heavy lifting, staying activated throughout my stride. Instead it sits there, a roadblock to an efficient gait. My form suffered from this unbalanced muscle mass and injury resulted. Everyday I do 30+ minutes of gluteal strength exercises, which leave my tush feeling weak and sore. The strength is coming back, now I need to fix my form that fell apart over the last few years.
Through my physical therapist's guidance, I've sought the help of both the Chi Running method and Eric Orton's, Cool Impossible. Essentially, when attacking a hill or when my body gets fatigued, I slump at the hips. I don't bring my driving (bent) leg forward and up high enough to propel myself with adequate power. Finally, I don't let my striking leg (the one making contact with the ground), straighten quite enough with each stride to gain full power. I already run on my forefoot, which is good, but fixing these three major issues would give me a more upright posture, no matter the terrain, engage my gluteal muscles constantly which would enlist the aid of my core muscles, and would no longer ask my hip flexors to stabilize the stride which keeps resulting in pain and tightness.
Now that I know what is wrong with me, I need to fix it. I told my physical therapist, Kevin, on day one that I wanted to fix whatever problems I had from the ground up. I don't want to end up back in his office again in a few months with new ailments. Throughout my previous marathon training program, I suffered with major tendonitis in my right shin which always pointed to a problem, but I didn't take the time to correct because I feared starting over.
Here, I am. I am starting over. The first step is strength training. Eric Orton has an amazing list of strength training exercises using a balance disk, slant board, and a fitness ball. Each activity looks easy, but they are not. A lot of my smaller muscles are weak, all the way down to my big toe. Strengthening those pieces will stabilize my entire body, which is exactly what I need. I've also taken on his training schedule transitioning to an upright running stance, complete with warm-ups every day. I may look like a fool skipping down the street with very high knees, but these simple warm-ups are extremely effective at retraining my muscles how to run.
I don't run with music anymore. I will once I retrain my body to run efficiently, but until then I need to be focused and I can't listen to my body when I am singing along to Foster the People. Since I started this new regimen, I take constant body checks. "Head up and straight ahead, hips in line with shoulders and knee, abs and glutes active, straighter leg pushing off ground, activate calves, drive forward and up with knee, land soft. Strength is in control and power. Strength is finesse." Running up hills I maintain a higher posture and breathe easier. Certain muscles fatigue faster now, especially my butt, which proves it is working. I stop running before my body becomes overly tired and I loose form. Usually this is about 4-5 miles a day.
Each week I feel slightly stronger, a little faster, and I worry about my hips less. This injury slowed down my training. For the first time ever, I dropped out of a race. It's been emotionally taxing and more frustrating than I can describe. However, it's forced me to stand back and examine my goals, both long and short term. I've learned about my body's muscle systems and how to use them more efficiently. I've started strength training daily and swimming multiple times a week, making me stronger, more patient, and most of all, I've proven to myself that I am brave enough to address my faults, even if that means taking a few steps backward.
~Roadburner
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