Let's start with stretching. I already mentioned it in the last post and thought I'd give you a few that I do. To stretch the back of your legs, particularly your calves, place your legs together and bend forward at the waist, clasping your hands behind your back. Then place your weight towards the front of your toes and pick your head up. You should be able to feel the pull in the back of your legs. Another easy one for the backs of your legs is to find a ledge or the streetcurb and place both feet such that half is hanging off the curb and push one of your heels towards the ground while keeping the other flat (perform for both feet). A simple but effective quad stretch is standing on one leg and, using your hands, pull the other leg, bent at the knee, up towards your back. Finally, pretend like you're taking a knee for a prayer before the big game. Take the leg you aren't leaning on and extend it back behind you with the toe pointed to the ground and then gently push your heel towards the ground and you should feel the stretch (do for both legs). There are so many different exercises depending on which parts of your body tend to get tight, but these cover some basic body parts that are going to be doing a lot of work while running.
Running should not be work, part 2. Unless you really really love work, in which case let's try to make it like work, part deux. What I mean is that if you don't feel like running or you've run 4 days in a row and are dreading the fifth day in a row, don't. Cross-training; things like rowing, biking, walking, swimming, playing aerobic sports, dancing (or spastic movements if you're me), are a great way to give your running body parts a rest but still attain a high cardio level during a workout. Believe me, it'll keep you from burning out from the constant running and it will give you that one or two days that you look forward to at the gym because "it's swimming day" or "I'm going to play tennis with my friend".
"Working out? But I just want to run and runners are small little things." WRONG!! Sorry, that was a little over the top. What I meant to say is that working out is crucial to injury free, effective running. I read about top runners who say that the key to their running is in their core (meaning their abs, chest, back). When you're running there's a large amount of stress on your body, but the tighter your core is, the more your body is able to manage the stress. And besides the stress, the better shape your core is in the better your running will become as your body won't hurt as you run faster or longer. So invest in a few key exercises and you can prevent injury and improve running. When I'm at the gym I focus on these few, doing some daily and some just a few times a week. For your lower back, which can be a trouble point for many runners (I pulled a muscle in my back in September and almost missed my half marathon in October), try the rowing machine. It really works the back and is also a good cardio-sidekick to your run. For your abs, I'd suggesting targeting your rectus abdominus muscles which aren't really the six-pack ab muscles but the ones that lie behind them and support them (but don't worry, if you work these out you can more easily get the six pack ones if that's your goal). And for your chest do some pushups or if you want to use weights, go ahead. But I have to stress the importance of the core.
I can't finish the discussion of working out without also talking about your legs. If you are taking a day off but feel guilty, I implore you to go and do some leg workouts; presses, squats, leg raises, etc. I mean, I don't need to spell this out but the legs are doing a lot of the work in running and take most of the stress, so help them out by getting them fit and ready to take what you're throwing at them.
Next time I want to talk about eating and water consumption before and after working out, but this post is getting entirely too long I think.
I do want to just say thank you to the people who have donated in the past week. Your generosity is much appreciated. For those of you who have not donated, I ask that you consider giving to a worthy cause in Dana Farber with whom I'm running the Boston Marathon, and go to the link below.
http://www.runDFMC.org/ryanmeehan20
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