A R T
For the last few weeks of training, I have been experiencing pain in my left quad and hip areas. I don't feel it when I'm sitting, but whenever I stand up or walk, there is a dull pain deep in that area. It also hurts when I run, but tends to go away after a couple of miles. It has been pretty easy to ignore, and in fact I think the pain first arose back in July toward the end of my training for the Wine Country Half-Marathon.
I was ready to just run through the pain, but it started getting worse over the last couple of weeks and I figured I should do something about it before the race. A number of people in my running club swear by "ART," otherwise known as "Active Release Technique." I was a little skeptical (especially since the name sounds a little dirty), but I decided to give it a shot.
So what is ART? According to the Active Release Web site, it is a "patented, state of the art soft tissue/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves." Basically, it is a combined deep tissue massage and stretching technique that involves someone pressing very deeply into various areas of the affected area while the patient (victim?) stretches to allow the ART practitioner to dig even deeper into that area. The goal is to break up scar tissue and fascia to loosen up the area and, eventually, end the pain. It is an interactive process that enables focus on just the problem area.
So far, I have had two sessions, and it is a workout! I was sore after the first session, but immediately noticed less pain. I was even more sore after the second session, and got a bit worried as the pain seemed to affect my runs (unlike the first session, I didn't have a rest day after the second session). After a rest day, however, I was able to run 11 miles today with almost no pain and felt faster than I have for quite some time. The jury is still out on ART, but with two weeks left before the race, I think it is helping and I am on the right track.
On the training front, I ran my longest run last Saturday, a 20 mile run on the Iron Horse Trail. It took me almost three hours to run 20 miles, and running for three hours straight is a f***ing long haul! I ran nearly the entire trail on a point to point course: Jessica dropped me off at the southern end of the trail near the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station and I ran 20 miles north to Heather Farm in Walnut Creek. I felt pretty good, until about mile 16, and then pretty much everything starting locking up. I made it through, but the last couple of miles were not pleasant. I was also running by myself, which I think made it even tougher than race conditions. Recovery was also pretty slow, which I hope may at least partially explain some of my pain during my shorter runs this week. Luckily, I am now in taper mode and hope to be well rested come December 10.
Here are the totals for the last couple of weeks:
Week Eleven
Miles: 34.57
Time: 5:01:14
Week Twelve
Miles: 22
Time: 3:05:23
Totals
Total miles (running): 277.68
Total time (running): 40:12:27
I was ready to just run through the pain, but it started getting worse over the last couple of weeks and I figured I should do something about it before the race. A number of people in my running club swear by "ART," otherwise known as "Active Release Technique." I was a little skeptical (especially since the name sounds a little dirty), but I decided to give it a shot.
So what is ART? According to the Active Release Web site, it is a "patented, state of the art soft tissue/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves." Basically, it is a combined deep tissue massage and stretching technique that involves someone pressing very deeply into various areas of the affected area while the patient (victim?) stretches to allow the ART practitioner to dig even deeper into that area. The goal is to break up scar tissue and fascia to loosen up the area and, eventually, end the pain. It is an interactive process that enables focus on just the problem area.
So far, I have had two sessions, and it is a workout! I was sore after the first session, but immediately noticed less pain. I was even more sore after the second session, and got a bit worried as the pain seemed to affect my runs (unlike the first session, I didn't have a rest day after the second session). After a rest day, however, I was able to run 11 miles today with almost no pain and felt faster than I have for quite some time. The jury is still out on ART, but with two weeks left before the race, I think it is helping and I am on the right track.
On the training front, I ran my longest run last Saturday, a 20 mile run on the Iron Horse Trail. It took me almost three hours to run 20 miles, and running for three hours straight is a f***ing long haul! I ran nearly the entire trail on a point to point course: Jessica dropped me off at the southern end of the trail near the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station and I ran 20 miles north to Heather Farm in Walnut Creek. I felt pretty good, until about mile 16, and then pretty much everything starting locking up. I made it through, but the last couple of miles were not pleasant. I was also running by myself, which I think made it even tougher than race conditions. Recovery was also pretty slow, which I hope may at least partially explain some of my pain during my shorter runs this week. Luckily, I am now in taper mode and hope to be well rested come December 10.
Here are the totals for the last couple of weeks:
Week Eleven
Miles: 34.57
Time: 5:01:14
Week Twelve
Miles: 22
Time: 3:05:23
Totals
Total miles (running): 277.68
Total time (running): 40:12:27
posted by pmk-one at 9:01:00 PM
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