What a weekend! First, a nice 7 miler yesterday and no serious tightening in the calves and hip later. So this morning I headed out for a 3-mile recovery run, and still no discomfort. Woo-hoo! I think I figured out why my calves tightened up the last few weeks -- I forgot to do my leg drains.
In Chirunning, we do leg drains at the end of stretching after the run. Just lie on your back with your feet up against a wall for 4 or 5 minutes. It lets all the pooled blood and such drain out of the legs. Then massage the calves and thighs like you're wringing out a rag and voila, legs feel great the next day. With ChiRunning my legs never hurt the next day but my calves can get pretty tight even with good form, so leg drains are a life-saver.
It's funny the CR focuses that will come to me during a run. I left the heart rate monitor at home and just decided to run 3 casual miles. The first mile today was OK although I could tell I was tired from yesterday (probably too much Diet Coke) but I was fine. The second mile I was feeling more tired than usual (of course I wasn't using walk breaks) but the third mile, I started thinking about my posture and my legs starting from the midpoint of my spine (T12/L1) and my stride opened right up and I felt so much better. Another time I focused more on trusting my lean and again my form just really opened up and breathing was easier not harder even though I was speeding up.
I have been so lethargic for so long that I'm thrilled to have run so well both days and have enough energy for a 16+ mile bike ride with Gene after lunch. Must be the great weather -- 61 degrees and sunny.
3 relaxed miles = 11:52
A recovering "Type A" runner takes on a new technique (ChiRunning) and a new attitude to avoid pain and injury
1 comment:
We used to do "leg drains" after long nights of DANCING when I was a young dancing machine! It really helps.
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