SMILE AND WAVE BOYS, SMILE AND WAVE

Alright people, sorry for the depressing post yesterday. I had spent most of Monday afternoon reading Runner’s World forums, particularly the IT Band support group which was a bad idea. Many people who post on there have had IT Band issues for years. Most people are like “I haven’t ran in five months” or “I can’t run further than two miles,” which completely freaked me out. However, my fiance — the PT — had a good point that if I paid attention to what people said that they did, it made sense. Many said that they iced, used The Stick and that was it. The PT says that you need to work on strengthening your muscles so that your IT Band doesn’t have to work as much. Icing and using will help, but don’t get down to the root of the problem.

I am getting down to the root of the problem. My fiance has graciously helped me with some exercises and even did some therapy on me last night (um, have you done PT before? It hurts.) — evident by my bruised leg. I worked on the exercises this morning and think they must be working because my muscles are extremely tired.

Which brings up a good point in that runners aren’t very good at working other muscles. Some of us are, but most of us just like to head out and run. I am so guilty of that. Cross-train day? Yep, I’ll be sitting on the couch. Moving forward, this isn’t going to be the case. I am going to work on these muscles and actually do cross-training on an off day… that is why this post is attributed to the penguins of Madagascar. By doing this, I will be able to smile and wave at my IT Band because it won’t be causing me anymore issues.

Now, let’s just hope that by next week at this time, I’ll be back to running and bragging about how awesome it feels. Now that is a post you definitely want to see, right?

 

Do you cross-train? Are you a good runner that focuses on exercising your other muscles? What do you do? 

Categories: becoming healthier, IT Band, recovery, running

4 Comments

  • Mind Margins says:
    16 February, 2012 at 1:52 pm

    I am the worst about cross training. I try to do yoga daily and it's made such a difference in my running. I also love to walk. I should do abs and weights, but . . .

    Reply
    • loramarie03 says:
      17 February, 2012 at 2:25 pm

      Do you find that you need flexibility in yoga? Because I don't have any… :) I have been doing good with abs and arms but think that I could do more… there just isn't enough time!

      Reply
  • Mind Margins says:
    17 February, 2012 at 3:33 pm

    You don’t need flexibility to start, but it will make you much more flexible and will keep your leg muscles nice and stretched kut. I think it really helps with muscle imbalances. Try the Gaiam DVD with Rodney Yee called A.M. Yoga for Your Week.There are five different sessions, each 20 min long, focusing on a different area of the body. The Forward Bends and Hip Openers are both excwllent sessions for runners. I do them after runs when I want to stretch out. It’s my absolute favorite yoga DVD!

    Reply

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