With most every race I walk away feeling pretty decent only to find myself extremely exhausted and sore the next day. My last race was a real kicker to the body. I ran a little harder than I was truly prepared for. I can handle being sore and tired but I just can't stand aches and pains that shouldn't be there. Last month it was my right quad from my spinning class. This time it was the area around my left knee. I started to feel it after going up and down the stairs in my house after finishing the race. I am pretty sure my legs were a little angry at me for running so hard on a hilly course with little to no hill training. I live in a pretty flat area and so it is really hard to get a good hill workout. Oh wait, there is one really big hill in my area and I do run it sometimes...Hoffman Hill Rd...yikes! I guess I will just need to buck up and do hill repeats to strengthen my legs.
With this small but crucial pain around my knee I became a little frustrated to think that I might have to take the week off of running. With any small injury there are always things that can be done to help work through it. I have discovered for myself 2 remedies that have helped me when I have little aches and pains. They are Stretching and Swimming. The best stretch that I could recommend to anyone but especially to runners is the IT band stretch. You basically stand straight up and cross one foot over the other. While poking the opposite hip of the leg you crossed over reach down to the ankle opposite the hip side and stretch. This one stretch has been my saving grace. For most of my runs now I do a mile warm up and then stretch. This is one stretch I do not forget. I can really feel a difference in my legs as I run after having stretched first. I try and end my runs with some more stretching.
The second remedy I have for aches and pains is getting in the pool and swimming laps. I don't mean doing fast repeats but just a good 1000m to 1500m freestyle enduranche swim. Today I swam 1200m and it really felt good. I finished the 1200m in 23:31. It didn't take that long but it was definitely therapeutic. Swimming laps really helped me to get over my December injury and I know that it will continue to help me as I get over my small aches and pains this month. Eventually I will get the motivation to swim fast repeats in the pool but for now I enjoy the long continuous workouts. Everyone has their own remedies for small aches and pains but these two have proven to be effective for me. I just hope I can keep up the stretching. It really requires diligence and patience!!!
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