Thursday, May 14, 2009

Every Step of the Way

It’s never good when a physiotherapist looks at you and says ‘hmmm, you’re an interesting case…’ when really, I just want to be regular, run-of-the-mill, middle-of-the-pack, average, when it comes to injuries.

“At first I thought you were JUST a butt-gripper,” he continues, “but you’re actually a butt gripper AND a back gripper.”

Sounds painful...

Actually, it has been painful but not in ways I’d expect from back and butt gripping! I had intense hip pointer pain when training for both the Vancouver and Boston marathons (2005/2006); heel pain (like Plantar Fasciitis, but not quite in the right spot) in 2008 and 2009; an upper back/shoulder tightness that needs to be relieved by ‘cracking’ daily; and, post-partum carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms.

It seems that my pre-existing posture (created through years of ballet as an adolescent), combined with training that pushes my body, and baby care activities that tend to make your posture even worse, has created the perfect storm.

So, I’ve spent the past few weekly sessions practising how to stand, bend at the hips and work (or at least find) my ‘glute meads’. I feel like I’m going back to the drawing board, but I hope it is a case of one step backward, two steps forward. Of course, I have to try and make these steps while using my core in the “right” way - something babies actually do quite well when they are learning to walk. My daughter is already teaching me!

On the positive side, I’m finally learning how to run without the telltale ‘duck’ turn-out of a former dancer, and I’m finally learning how to stand without hyper-extending my back. Plus, I'm pretty stoked about having some new exercises to add to my strength sessions (ha ha).
I guess when they say you learn something about yourself in Ironman, they mean that it happens every (turned-in) step of the way.

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