Stretch the Drumsticks

Keeping muscles loose and pliable will keep you running the entire season. Inflexible muscles inhibit your muscles from working together in their proper and full range of motion.  Tight hamstrings are one of the worst culprits to sideline runners, because tight hamstrings can lead to low back pain, hip pain, and knee problems.  Make sure you are warm prior to stretching muscles and prior to reaching your full training speed. Usually a 5-10 minute warm up is adequate before stretching.

For example: Run your first mile, Stop & Stretch and then continue on your run. Then, the best time do more intensive stretching, is immediately following the commencement of your training. 

Runners & Yoga Tip:

Before your Yoga or Pilates stretching class, complete your training run for the day and time the end of your run to finish just before class begins. Your muscles will be very warm and you will get the most out of your class.

Stretches should be held at least 40 seconds to a full minute and Orthopedics will recommend you hold the stretch a minimum of 60 seconds. Yes, that amount of time will seem like an eternity, however, to get the muscle elongation that is required, you must hold those stretches.

Examples of Hamstring Stretches:

Race Day Checklist

If you are a runner in Nashville, I’m sure you are well aware that the Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon is quickly approaching. It is a big and exciting national event that we are lucky to consider local. If you have any questions in getting ready for your race day, here is a checklist of necessities and not so necessary things that may make your event most enjoyable.

Lay out all your race stuff a week before that race date and then the day before the race.

Be sure to know right where everything is.

Here is your checklist:

THE NECESSITIES

__    Shoes

__    Socks

__    Shorts

__    Race jersey

__    BodyGlide or Vaseline

__    Sunscreen

__    Ride Home

NECESSITIES YOU WILL RECEIVE (AT EXPO)

__    Race number

__    Time Chip for your Shoe

OTHER STUFF (OPTIONAL)

__    Throw away (warm-up) T-shirt

__    Sunglasses

__    Spandex

__    Watch

__    Race Belt / water bottle

__    Hat

__    Energy Bars & Gels

__    Money

__    Post Race Clothes

This being my 8^th Year participating in the event and having coached well over 1000 people to complete Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon, I would love to be your unbiased resource for the event. Personal Best Fitness is always here for any questions or concerns you may have, no matter how big or small the questions may seem.

Good luck at your event, big or small, first or 100^th. May you always be striving to reach your Personal Best.

Exhilirated, not Exhausted

“Stress, Recover, Improve… that’s all training is. Any damn fool can do it.” – can be heard echoing through the halls of Oregon from famed coach and Nike founder Bill Bowerman. He would say it verbatim to all incoming freshman every year, and he meant it, especially the “recovery” part.

In the 50’s when the standard for improving was pushing till you puke everyday Bowerman would insist on days off for recovery, and if his overzealous students would try to sneak in an extra workout, the consequence was simple: off the Team. While many did not agree with Coach Bowerman’s theories… 4 NCAA titles and 16 sub 4 min. milers later… turns out ole Bill was right.

Your fitness doesn't increase while you run, but during the recovery process that unfolds between runs. The stress of running flips a number of hormonal and genetic switches in various parts of your body, allowing each part to adapt in a way that renders it better prepared for the next workout. But these adaptations can unfold only when your body is at rest. Since the majority of fitness adaptations occur through recovery, the goal of your training program should be to maximize recovery. In other words, instead of recovering to train, as many runners do, you should train to recover.

While we are not here to win a gold medal, an NCAA title or run professionally, taking a day or two off for recovery will only help us in our long term fitness and goal setting. While most of us run to enhance our lives, and we want to finish and feel exhilarated and not exhausted, taking a day off for recovery will be one of the easier things for us to do.