Warming Up!
My race is just 9 days away! I am wondering if I should warm up before the race? On all of my tempo runs, I have warmed up with 2 miles before heading into my tempo miles. I know the purpose of a warm up, but on race day, I worry about expending the extra energy. I only ever warmed up for a race once. It was for a 5k I was racing. I think I ran a mile before the start of the race. So what do you guys think, should I warm up first?
Holding up!
My body has been holding up pretty well during my six weeks of training. And now all the hard workouts are over. My ITB is no worse for wear. I had a couple runs that it hurt a little, but we're talking mayyyyyybe 3 times that it bothered me. I can't complain. I was a little nervous about doing speed work and a tempo run each week (half marathon race pace for me is speed work!). I vowed to be in tune with my body, and if it wasn't handling it, I would stop. Well, so far it has handled it! Until...
Last Speed Sesh!
My last speed session was Wednesday morning on the treadmill. I did 13x400 with 400 recoveries in between. My intervals were @ 6:22 (fastest I ever did!) and my recoveries were @ 8:00. I warmed up and cooled down as well for an "even" 9.75 miles. (I ran 8.25 on Tuesday so I knocked a quarter mile off Wednesday's run!) I know 13 is a weird number, but after 12, I still felt okay. I wasn't about to throw up or poop my pants, so I went for Lucky 13. After my cool down, I walked for 10 minutes and my right hamstring felt a little sore. By the time I got to work and stretched, the pain had migrated to my right butt cheek. It's all jacked up now! I mean, I can feel it as I sit here typing this (Wednesday, 3 hours post workout). EFFF! I am going to stretch more today and hopefully it subsides. I'm annoyed. It didn't hurt at all during my run or my cool down. It was when I started walking that it felt weird.
Stretching at lunch. I call this Pissy Pigeon Pose.
**UPDATE: By Wednesday night, the pain in my ass had diminished greatly and I still felt a little twinge in my hammy. Thursday morning I will get my upper body swole and rest these old ass legs.**
Tuesday & Wednesday workouts are awesome! Wow, I am always so impressed. Don't overreact! You will be fine--I know it. I think a day of just doing upper body and you will be back to feeling normal. I will say, however, the pain you describe is exactly what I deal with when I have a flare up. Because I have injured my hamstring so much the point of attachment on the glute gets very sore & tight and sends pain all throughout my glute. I can't (well, I don't) run when it gets like this because it spells bad news--my glute, lower back get muscle spasms. I am actually seeking out alternative therapies for my hamstring because I have had 3 injections but it does flare up from time to time. My PT and I talked about regenerative therapies so I am in the process of gathering info.
ReplyDeleteNow I have a better understand of the hamstring issues you deal with! I have never had hamstring problems but obviously as a someone who wants to run forever, I realize it's probably only a matter of time before my body has had the "opportunity" (haha) to experience aches and pains everywhere! Waking up this am I have no glute problems and only feel the hamstring a tiny bit when I bend over. Can't wait to see how the day goes! Do you think I should stretch my hammy and foam roll my butt or just leave it alone???
DeleteYeah, it pretty much sucks! I am so happy it feels better today. I would do what makes it feel better. If stretching made it get better...keep doing that! Each person is totally different so what works for me might make yours worse, ya know?
DeleteThat is the ONE benefit of me getting slower. I don't get that high hamstring PIA from speedwork anymore. Just rest, you'll be good to go. I'd do a short warmup. A mile at most. Run easy, bring it up to race pace then ease it down.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that advice Marcia! It's good to know others have had the same issue as me from speed work and that hopefully it's just par for the course when pushing yourself!
DeleteMarcia, I would be interested to hear what has worked for you! I have dealt with this for over 10 years :(
DeleteI would warm up for a mile or so, super slow, just get the blood flowing. Tight hamstrings and Gluts from speed work are common, usually a sign of a bit too much. Stretch, roll, walk it out...I am excited for your race. You will kill it!
ReplyDeleteThank you for that advice Cheryl! Luckily this was the last speed session so I can take it easy on my body from here on out. I guess I have to be glad this didn't happen a couple weeks ago or I would be certainly nervous to do speed training. I just hate any niggle cause I am injury prone. Or at least I feel like I am. I can't decide if I am just giving myself a self fulfilling prophecy or what...
DeleteThe fact that you've had ANY pain in your IT band scares me. You are REALLY good at doing stretches and lifting. I think "wow, of someone as dedicate as Meg has this pain when she does all that, then I am sure to get it back..lol"
ReplyDeleteGlad your other pain has subsided!
But I don't lift lower body because it aggravates it! I want to test lower body out again after my half marathon on April 23. I don't want to do it now and aggravate it more- if that is indeed what would happen.
DeleteI can't believe that was your run on a Wednesday before work... if I could I would literally place a crown on your head and bow down in front of you!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the hammy and booty loosened up! And I like seeing you stretch on your classroom floor. Sometimes I wait for everyone in my part of the office to go to lunch and then I stretch next to my desk. One time when my hips were super, super tight I went to the bathroom (it's a private, nice one) and got on the floor and stretched. The bathroom is decently big and I wasn't near the toilet or anything, but I definitely laughed out loud thinking "what the hell am I doing?"
LOL that is the amount of endorphins I have needed lately to face the work day! No seriously I think I am getting addicted to the endorphins because today I lifted instead of ran and I feel blue. :(
DeleteLOL maybe your office needs a stretching room so you don't have to use the bathroom? I don't know what is less gross- stretching on the floor of a bathroom or a classroom. Think of all the gross boogers on the floor of my room and there I was doing pigeon pose.
Glad your ass is feeling better! I used to be scared shitless to warm up before a race. Like freaked out scared, then I tried trusting my training. It worked. I felt sooooooo much better during the race. I only do a mile though, just enough to loosen me up a bit. Eventually if I grow up I will try for a little longer ;)
ReplyDeleteOkay maybe I will do a mile and when I grow up do more hehe!
DeleteWhat, glute issues?? My life. I'm glad it is feeling better though. I think as long as I train/run full marathons I am doomed to have sore glute issues forever. Sucks. The tight feeling plagues me all day when I sit.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't warm up for races. I consider the first mile a warmup... but then again, as I get older it sure takes me longer to warm up, so maybe I should start doing warm ups!!
I am so sorry this is the issue that plagues you! Mine is my ITB. :(
DeleteHaha! I'm glad you didn't want to throw up or poop your pants during your speed session. That's generally my gage for if I could do more. No poop, no problem!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your glute and ham are feeling better. I hate it when workouts leave me feeling really tight.
When I feel tightness or niggles I get so scared of being injured! :) Thank you for the calm reminder that sometimes I workout may make us feel jacked up but it doesn't mean the world is going to come crashing down.
DeleteWell, my advice would be NOT to stretch. I know that goes against what lots of people would say though, and you know your own body and just do what works for you. But whenever I get a sore something, I don't stretch it, as it aggravates it even more. I think of it as a wound. If I had a cut on my hand, would I start poking at it and stuff? No, I'd rest it and not use it or move it much. Let it heal. I used to go crazy on sore muscles, foam roll it to death, stretch it too much and make it all worse.
ReplyDeleteSo what I ended up doing is stretching the glute a couple times but hammy only once because the hammy didn't feel that great when I stretched.
DeleteI feel like I have similar issues and I wonder if it could be related to the sciatic nerve. I can always tell the difference though, when its muscle vs nerve (so I might have a tight spot in my glute but feel a sensation in my hamstring or somewhere in between). I have found that stretching makes it worse, but I like using a lax ball to roll out my glute area. Im glad its gotten better so quickly- that is definitely a good sign!
ReplyDeleteI am happy too but it makes me so nervous. :( I also convinced myself I have PF (which I don't). I'm going nuts.
DeleteI'm more of a Suzy and don't stretch. I read somewhere that we tend to over stretch when we stretch only making things worse. Our bodies can heal themselves with rest and recovery. So that's what I try and do--but yeah, stretching sometimes feels sooo good and you just wanna!
ReplyDeleteDon't stress. You got this.
I am generally a stretch right after a run girl, but if something actually feels hurt, I never know what to do because of fear of over stretching. I did end up stretching the glutes cause that felt good to do but not so much the hammy. It is all pretty much gone now but I'm nervous to run...
DeleteThank you Karen! My run was pain free today so I am cautiously optimistic!
ReplyDelete