Hands up if you are guilty of not stretching enough.....
Yes - my hand is well and clearly up! I am guilty of sometimes not stretching or getting some mobility going before and after a run. And yes, I do know better! Our coach at CrossFit Tenacity drills the importance of mobility and stretching as much as he can - and now I am listening loud and clear because if I don't, the Melbourne marathon is going to be a lot harder than it needs to be.
A visit to my friendly physio back in June after over-extending my back (from not keeping a good overhead position - my bad) resulted in me finding out I had super stretchy hamstrings, but not so great flexibility in my hips and quads. Since then, I have been working on my hip flexors and quads but have let slip the other maintenance I need to be doing. So what am I going to do about it? Here's my online vow that I can't just keep relying on the good-will of my body to put up with the extra miles and training and I will take better care of it! So if you see my down at the CF Tenacity Box, ask me if I've been stretching and keeping up with mobility - and if I haven't - I'm happy for a 25 burpee penalty and then a mobility session after that!
Thanks to some great advice from my physio, our CrossFit coach Matty Skrypek and MobilityWOD I'm well prepared for the next few big weeks of marathon training . This includes a 32km run this Sunday - the longest run I will do before the Marathon on October 14, and recovery is going to be key. It certainly is overdue for me to get supple! What will I be doing? Lots of rolling of my quads, working on my shoulder position, not leading with my head - but with my sternum when I run, and not forgetting my hip flexors which are now functioning at a normal range.
Here are some of the of the clips that I've found fantastic and extremely educational at mobilitywod.com - jump on the website, then jump on a roller, band, ball or bar!
- http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/11/episode-341-runners-shoulders.html
- http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/05/episode-249-improving-hip-extension-and-internal-rotation-for-running.html
- http://www.mobilitywod.com/2010/10/episode-63-plan-ahead-and-mobilize.html
Happy stretching people!
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