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| Rachel, Darren, James, Clayton and I out on our long run along the Grand River trails. Coach Rick leading on the bike. Great tempo going on here! |
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| Great book to read with the kids as we continue to mourn Andy's loss. |
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| Placing some Saucony and Eload orders with my happy girl. |
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| Ready to get this run going! |
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| On long run days, particularly in the warmer weather, I often don't get hungry until late afternoon. And because we usually eat later on the weekend, I make myself a smoothie to get by. Here's one with kale, frozen berries, milk, pumpkin seed butter, protein powder, flax/chia/hemp, and Liberte Kefir and plain Greek yogurt. |
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Recently in an interview I was asked if anything is different in my
training program than last year, given my faster times. I believe that
being 2 years post birth, coached by Rick for a full year, improving my
diet, and increasing my mileage, intensity, and cross-training have
certainly benefited my performance. But one of the most significant
changes to my routine is my weekly physiotherapy and massage treatments. In the past I knew this was something I would need to do at this level and thankfully, two extremely generous people made it happen through sponsorship.
Sherri (and her physio husband, Rob who initially diagnosed the
problem) at
Essential Physiotherapy & Wellness
is the reason I was able to return to running. Her treatment of my
pregnancy-related unbalanced pelvis was key. I am so grateful for her!
Additionally, my weekly appointments with my Registered Massage
Therapist, Cynthia at
Therapeutic Massage Counsel, have also been significant in
keeping me in fine order. Cynthia and I met for 10 consecutive weeks for
Structural Integration
, which I believe has greatly improved my posture and created a much
more efficient gait. At each 1 hour appointment, Cynthia would work on
one area the entire time. She alternated between upper and lower body
parts each week. Initially I didn't know how she could spend her entire
time on one area but she did. And she did so well! Before I got on the
table, she would watch me walk, from the front and back. She'd work on
me for about 10 minutes then get me walking again. This would continue
for the entire duration. Many times I saw her a few hours after my long
run so was a little sleepy, getting off the table. At the
end of each appointment, I could honestly feel a difference. It wasn't
significant in that I wasn't going in with some sort of pain that she
eliminated but it was more of a feeling of being smooth, relaxed and
efficient, particularly in the shoulders. Now that the 10 weeks is over, Cynthia will continue to watch
me walk in her weekly assessment, maintain the work she did through the
structural integration, and focus on the little aches and pains that
are now starting to arise with the greater training. She has really
taken a preventative approach, which is so critical. Too many times we
make those panicked appointments before races, to work out the issues
that could have been avoided. The best part was that, although much
different, physio and massage treatments were very complimentary with
the consistent on-going assessments and advice. There's nothing worse
than one health-care provider telling you one thing, only to have the
other one contradicting the first. This has never happened.
It's
9:45 pm and I'll be in bed soon. I ran 170 km this week and just loved
every bit of it. I feel so refreshed and energized yet we continue to
play it safe. It's tempting to take a jump in the mileage because I feel
so great but we are going to stick with another 170 km, high quality
week. Saturday's tempo in the middle of my long run with the group was
great. We'll have more of those. And tomorrow I have a longer, speedy tempo on the treadmill that I've been looking forward to since finishing my run this morning! Another race in two weeks and still lots of work to do before Aug 10th! Steady.
http://www.tmctherapy.com/
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2nd Woman.