On a roll and loving it

This last week has been pretty amazing for me compared to the last six or eight weeks, and I really feel like I'm on a roll now.

No, not that kind of roll (although I have spent quite a bit of time on these during that time, and do still use them occasionally).  This is actually the kind of roll I've been on...

Yes...the PAIN FREE kind of roll!  I think (at least for now, and I certainly don't want to jinx it) that I've finally got past the various pain issues I've been dealing with, and am rolling along pain free. I'm at the point now that I can do a little nearly each day, and that is so liberating. I was also able to dispense with the daily Advil dose(s) on Tuesday of this week, and I'm "running clean" !

While every bit of every run hasn't been free from all discomfort, no run has had issues beyond the first 1/4 mile or so. Even better though is that I have managed to run for 9 of the last 11 days, which is nothing short of amazing for me.  And several of those days were completely pain free. None of them have been far, but I've averaged about 4.3 miles per day for every day run. And all of this is better than being hurt so bad that I'm forced to cross train or take days off.

I'd like to say (and think) that I'm over that bout of discomfort and can just get out and run exclusively (I even like to "type" that :-)), but I honestly believe that a big part of my recovery (and what will keep me "in the game") is the stretching and strengthening I've been doing. True, I started these as a reaction to my injuries (TFL on left hip, ITB on right from knee to hip, strained back muscles, etc.), but I think going forward I'll need to be more diligent and intelligent in my approach if I want to minimize these issues in the future.

I'm thinking that I won't need to be quite so Reactive, if I will just be a bit more Proactive. At least with the body I've been issued (in its current condition), I need to ensure that I maintain a good range of motion, a solid and strong core, and even flexibility and strength from side to side. Since I tend to be "right dominant" from a strength perspective, I need to ensure that an inflexible or restricted quad or hamstring on one side doesn't torque my form and start another cascade of issues. I've started to get much better about working this in every day, so I'll just need to build from there and make sure that it continues to be a daily part of my routine.


I've been keeping each run distance pretty low, but I do need to do one more long run before the upcoming marathon, so I tentatively plan on doing that next Saturday, and doing something between 18 and 20. Given that I know I can cover the full distance now, I think this will suffice...the key for me is to ensure that the run doesn't set me up for re-injury.

Here's to everyone running well and pain-free in the coming days.....

Happy Running Everybody !!!