SWBKRUN fast, furious, and closed (Page 237)

Or better yet...VIDEO!

Love my roller.  I use it for IT band, glutes, hip flexor stretch, upper back. 

Need to try the golf balls for the feet! 

I had the stick and gave it away.  I have a white foam roller than I use for my upper back and shoulder, but for lower extremities the TP Massage Kit is the bomb.  The quad roller is great for the ITB and hamstrings.  My recommendation is to get all of it and use it regularly. 

Suzy, as I said the "stick" is ok, but I think the TP massage kit sounds good! Thanks.

I use a hard rubber baseball or a lacrosse ball.  The lacrosse ball is even harder than the baseball and works great.  You can pick one up on Amazon for $2-3.

IT Band (just a big tendon) problems for me usually turn out to be the gluteus medius and the TFL, both of which yank on the IT band when they're tight.

Bingo!  I've always heard that tight muscles tend to be weak muscles so simply rolling away won't solve the problem in many instances.  You need to work on the root cause.  I spend quite a bit of time strengthening my glutes either through yoga or other core exercises.  Course that might not be the problem for Barry.  Only a good PT would know for sure

Finally managed to tick the box saying "healed" on my log!!!

Had a brick session this morning and my running felt good with just my usual run-niggles BUT no knee pain!!!

EXCELLENT!

That is very good news.

These Baseball playoffs are sure messing up my early bedtime!  

I start by working on my weakest link (swimming) and add a little YOGA to strengthen my ignored muscles.  You could also consider focusing on one sport for a while (eg. running) which is always great in the Fall.

Last yr I scheduled a HM in Nov and Feb to keep me going.  I was using Hal Higdon's training HM plans (mostly) for those which helped keep me focused. 

I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do this yr.  So far I've created a weekly schedule for myself with swim x2, bike x2-3, run x4, and yoga x2 up til my IM plan starts in Feb. Outside of following Jorge's winter program I want to keep things light (mentally) and flexible.  My main focus between now and Christmas is to shed the last of my extra lbs. I tired of looking at my fat a$$ in my race photos.

Pretty good feedback guys...probably little too late but what the heck...Im on it.  I am guessing that I was not aggressive stretching enough early on, and I have some great floor exercises that i have neglected to do since i have been so busy.

I am going to see what I can do stretching and strenghtening over the next couple weeks and see if it helps any.

I often enter races, or just take a step back and try to switch things up. There are classes at my Y that I love but don't do when I'm training for something. This time of year I've done those in the past (usually a combo of spinning/strength training), but the early morning classes don't fit into my schedule this year quite as well, so I'm exploring other options.

Sometimes I do little challenges with myself, and that's what I'm doing now. I always like to run at least 1200 miles/year (for no other reason than I think it looks cool) -- I'm way behind this year due to a hamstring injury in April. So I'm trying to get back to that. Then I'm adding in some other little challenges. Right now I'm trying to run every day in October, a minimum of :30. I did this a few years ago (minimum :20) and it was just hard enough to be an effort, but also it was attainable -- I can always find :30 to throw on shoes and go. I can always get up :30 earlier and squeeze in a run. Speed doesn't matter, and lots of runs are super slow for recovery purposes. I'm listening to my body, though, and if I feel I need a day off, I'll take it and won't be stupid for the sake of a personal challenge.  I might extend this out to do a version of 100 runs in 100 days, but I haven't decided yet. I do need to get on the bike and might set some goals for that, but right now I want to find my run again so this is motivating me on days when I may have lost the mojo.

Race-wise, we have the Seattle Marathon/Half-marathon here the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend that I like to do when I'm in town. But I always decide last-minute... so it's sort-of a carrot out there but no pressure. More often than not the weather is incredibly $#!tty and it's a big suffer-fest, but it's like a cultural right of passage and a good way to end up a weekend of debauchery! There are a lot of little local races around Thanksgiving and the holidays -- maybe look for one of those and set a little goal and work for it!

Good luck and happy trails!!!

Started to get some pictures on line... LOTS LOTS MORE...

http://averymckenna.smugmug.com/Sports/Triathlon

This is where I am totally different.  I focus on other things... Rock Climbing, Adventure Racing, Mtn. Biking, Hiking, etc... At least for a couple months.  Then start of the new year I start focusing on what it is I need to focus on!!  You'll be fin...

Really great photos!!!  I cannot imagine you saw much of the race behind the camera the whole time.  Can't wait to see the women running.....post 'em!

Excellent pictures, very motivating!!

I like the idea of doing some other things!  I want to do some backpacking and I might dabble in some mountain biking.  I finally found a swim coach and I'm going to start working with her toward the end of the month.  I'm also going to focus on my running over the winter.  I finally got a Garmin, so that should add some interest to the running!  It will be fine, but I need a schedule or it's too easy to procrastinate.  LOL

Ok, today was my walking half marathon.  Finished 3rd overall with a time of 3:06.  (Hubby was 1st)  This was about 30 min faster than last year.  I'm stoked about that!!  The hardest part was wanting to run, but not doing it.  This event was billed as and intended to be a walk, so I wanted to stay in the spirit.  Need to send a thank you note to my surgeon.

Great job!  Do you realize some people don't walk a half marathon that fast? Woo-Hoo!

Congratulations to both you and your husband Jayne!!  Great job and great improvement!

I am guessing that since she finished 3rd she realizes that everyone walking behind her didn't walk that fast...give the woman some credit Suzy!!