yea that’s great info there. seems to be the case for most of the pros & such, who train/compete more up North (of me).
it’s very opposite in south Florida usually. our best races are in the winter because that’s the only time we get perfect running weather (not for long either). our summer’s here are 90+F and humid, it’s brutal. everyone disappears in the summer, it’s hilarious.
I handled the summer heat great last year. One reason could be because of how light I was: ~140 lb (and 5k PR was at 139). Right now i’m ~158 lb, 163 a few weeks ago lmao. My weight usually drops alot in the summer. It’s happened as far back as I can remember. I think usually my work-rate stays about the same, and the extra heat w/ that same work rate just causes me to drop weight much more rapidly. My work rate has dropped the last few months due to the injury issues - it’s probably why i put on some extra fat. Eating similar, but running less. I handle the heat better when i’m leaner & staying over-hydrated, that’s for sure.
man it’s so insane… i can’t run in heavy shoes for shit. I don’t think i’ve ever run fast in heavy shoes. heavy shoes for me, are traditional running shoes.
tonight i felt like I was going 4:5X min/mi pace. I get home and check garmin connect: 6:01 avg pace. the 5:33 min/mi @ 0.30 mi i did earlier today was less effort and on tougher terrain (thick grass/divots/rocks etc), but in xc flats.
the good news is: i realized a 4:5X mile in heavy shoes should be one of my goals. if i can run 4:5X in heavy shoes, i’ll be absolutely flying in spikes/light road flats. seriously.
05/29/2019:
right glute barely achy - good considering i hammered it a bit
calves tight
left pec twitching, annoying af
09:20 AM: run + bw
run: light w/ mod finish: 18 min @ {0.30 mi @ 5:2X-5:3X} ::: (grass/dirt/rocks)
Thanks alot man! Healing has been very slow, and odd/confusing… but seems like it’s happening. Some of these runs I did recently, if I had done them a few months ago, i’d have pulled up, unable to continue, reinjuring the area etc… soo, good sign. Feels like everything has gotten stronger but there’s still some small aches/pains in there which remind me it isn’t 100% yet. I’m starting to incorporate some faster/harder efforts again, but I have to be very careful.
As of right now, the glute is the last to heal. Sacral spine, hamstring, and hip have improved much more than the glute. There’s still some spots in it which I can trigger decent pain, ie if I do a hamstring stretch, specifically touching the floor while pushing hips back w/ legs straight. That’ll flare it up etc. So i’ve been avoiding any movements which cause small re-tweaks.
Also FWIW, I was enjoying running throughout. Being injured sucks but, i was able to run slow at least which is still so fun/enjoyable to me. Worrying about things healing (or not healing) is definitely stressful though. We both know how that goes.
One thing I like about this down period is, I maintained my running & i’m still addicted to it, but i’m less addicted to racing. Which is probably a good thing, because first & foremost I just want to enjoy running & improve with it. Racing & such is secondary.
Stuff like that always happens when we are forced to take a step back and re-evaluate etc. It’s funny/sad how hard it is to do that when everything is going well. lol.
ah damn. maybe now that you’re realizing it, you can address it better.
yea these areas are tricky.
it’s hard to figure out what actually came first. then sometimes if you really try to focus on where the pain is, it might actually be somewhere else. that’s always so “trippy”. ie, i might feel pain in my glute/hip but then if i really focus on it, I start to realize alot of it is in my sacral spine. I have some hereditary issues there that I have to be careful with. Sometimes I do dumb stuff & inflame it.
when I did some lacrosse ball rolling on my glutes several weeks ago, man was that painful.
when stuff starts tightening up like crazy, as either an adaptation or a protective response, it can create the most weird issues. it’s fascinating and annoying.
after my light run this morning i did something I know i shouldn’t do: because it can retweak my issue or cause some slight damage → but I did it anyway.
just leaning over touching the ground (with fingertips), stretching hamstring primarily, but just holding it for a few minutes, nice and relaxed.
areas in my right glute & sacral spine pulsate like a mfqr.
it’s felt great since. i’m curious to see how it feels during my light run tonight.
but that’s one of my mental problems - I get very annoyed when I can’t do something. For example, the fact that I can’t stay in that position without the risk of injuring this glute area, bugs the fu*k out of me. People advise against that stretch but i’ve done it my whole life, just feels like a normal movement. Prior to the injury, I could do this movement (+ holding that position for a while) without any problems. I’d do that stretch occasionally, almost like it’s an instinct. Lately i’ve been wanting to do it, but I prevent myself because of fear of re-tweak. I need whatever is jacked up in there to just let go and relax & stfu. Would be amazing. FWIW: feels pretty good right now. Maybe it’s at that stage where I can do it without re-tweak and it’ll help instead of hurt.
well it’s a natural movement, i’ve never had a problem with it until this injury. so i really just need my glute to chill out. then it’ll feel fine again, i imagine.
i know right. fu*ked me self up ree good. ridiculous.
bent over floor touch x a few minutes: pulsating in right glute
08:30 PM: light with hard segment: 43 min w/ {0.71 mi @ 5:01 min/mi, 1km split = 3:06 (5:01)} ::: (grass, spikes) /// first time running on a (300ft) baseball field - rough.
Nothing wrong with a forward fold, it’s a legit move/stretch as you know, but 99% of people are not ready for it haha, especially if you’re dealing with injury to low back area. Sounds like your back is locked up right now like mine, likely protecting an injury or former injury that’s mostly healed.
I know, very frustrating. You got to let some of that inflammation calm. Work on bracing the entire core. McGill big 3. Once pain subsides some, add in some gentle mobile flossing, cat/camel, mckenzie press ups, etc.
The problem with SIJ/QL/Erectors/#WHOLEBACK is it wants to lock immediately when its pissed off. So dont piss it off haha.
ok so today was weird… i was in that mode where i was testing my glute/ham in positions that cause it pain. and it’s just pissing me off.
so then i start stretching… and im just like fuck it. i’m going to try and pull this tight muscle off the bone - knowing that sounded like a bad idea.
so i do some long holds… some intense holds. really stressing that area (glutes/hamstrings/sacral spine), and other areas (back/lats/hips/quads).
long story short… after stretching through some considerable pain, and thinking i’m making it worse, it felt like it disappeared, even on my run tonight… and even AFTER my run. haven’t felt it at all.
the big test will be tomorrow… to see how it feels for the AM run.
if this fixes the area, it’ll put me back on the stretch bandwagon. because so far it’s shocking. this pain has been there for like 2 months now. i’ve stretched it off/on throughout that period, but never this much… and probably not this intense.
some side effects of the stretching tho: hamstrings feel shredded.
who knows tho… i’ll probably end up jacking something else up. hope not.
06/01/2019:
glute/hamstring/spine achy until hours after stretch fest…
was able to trigger some fatigue/sensation in one movement.
first time since injury (months go) being able to stretch my hamstring without this area in my glute/hamstring being painfully tight.
crazy.
I posted in a stretching thread in another subforum. That Goggins stuff resonated with me when I saw the interview months back. It reminded me of some stuff i’ve done, but he ended up doing it daily for years. Seems to be most important to him, his long ~2-3 hour stretch sessions every night.
curious to see how i feel tomorrow. i imagine my hamstrings will be pretty sore lol. but if that injury/pain goes away, man o man… incredible.
hamstrings sore (a ripped to shreds kind of feeling)
feel so light today, moving so relaxed, loose, etc.
BW: 153 lb !! → -10 lb since 3 weeks ago.
11:30 AM: run + bw
great sessions!
run: very light: 46 min {103 F heat index lol} ::: (grass/dirt/rocks) /// legs very sore from some intense stretching yesterday, but it may have fixed my glute/hamstring. crossing fingers.
seriously.
