"...Like It's Your Job"

Anyone who has read my blog posts before or who follows me on Facebook knows that I am a casual marathoner who has been suffering a bad streak of running injuries since 2011. I'm training for my 10th marathon (or marathon-plus) and using a coach, Leigh, at Athletes Treating Athletes, so that I don't injure myself this time. Having Leigh available in all forms of communication (cell, text, and email) in a heartbeat has been a dream for me. I get daily (sometimes twice daily) feedback, encouragement, and guidance. I have been on the brink of an injury a couple of times during this training cycle, but Leigh has kept me injury-free so far. The marathon is in 3 days, so I'm hoping that my opportunity to fully damage myself is limited. 

I have had many different types of running injuries, but my body's injury of choice as of late is a stress fracture in the second or third metatarsal of my left foot. It's a miserable thing, in part because it takes a long time to heal. 

In truth, the foot is just a consequence of the problem. The real problem is my left calf. The thing is so darn tight that it starts yanking my foot around and if I am not careful, causes an injury.

Leigh has a solution for this problem. In truth, Leigh has a solution for all things physical. You could have her at gun-point and she'd never lose her cool. She'd had recommendations for how to fix your sports-related injury, with a video demonstration to boot! The solution involves stretching and rolling the calf, "like it's your job," as Leigh says. As if writing a book, writing papers for an NIH-funded study, and taking on a new three-year project with the State of Connecticut is not enough of a job, now I have another job -- "Calf Healer" and "Calf Stretcher." Leigh once told me to work on my calf every hour after a long run. She must tell me this just to ensure that I will work on it every-other hour, for sure. Here's what it looks like.

First, I start with a foam roller. Leigh gave this one to me when she was my physical therapist in New Hampshire, before she moved to Texas and started her consulting/coaching business. It look me a long time to figure out how to use a foam roller. I basically understand now. Of course the one place where I find it hardest to use a foam roller is on my calves. It's so hard to hold myself up on my hands (to give added pressure) while I roll back and forth, side-to-side...even with Leigh's videos. I try to do this several times a day.

Next is the tennis ball. When you cannot get rid of a knot in your calf, or any part of your body, out comes the tennis ball. Put it under that area of tension and lean right in. Leigh tells me that the tennis ball helps to reach the muscles deeper inside the calf. This is what I definitely need! 

When I was exhausted from trying to get my leg straightened out, I sent Leigh a video of my pathetic tennis ball approach and she responded with a video of her own - doing calf mobilization exercises. Essentially, you place the ball under the knot, point your foot, cross your other leg over to supply pressure, and then bring the foot up and down in a smooth motion. I do these 4-5 times a day. 

Drake usually takes a keen interest in my work with the tennis ball. He insists on lying right next to me, making it impossible for me to roll around on the tennis ball. 

I really like to get as deep as possible into that muscle, even though Leigh warns me about beating up on the calf too much. The tennis ball often collapses a little, making it difficult for me to do much rolling. When I was visiting my friend, Nora, I saw this dog toy and asked if I could bring it home. I sterilized it and got right to work!

It does a great job, even if the diameter is a little small. 

So, this is has been my new job for the past four weeks. Just 3 more days to go. Then I'll have some post-marathon recovery work to do, but I'll be on the other side of it by then. Wish me luck!