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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Tri Therapy! Tales of an Aspiring Triathlete!


Nobody warned me that I would need therapy after training for a triathlon! Haha...well, not that kind of therapy, but I'm not sure physical therapy is any less daunting than mental! 


















After a few short weeks of Tri training I found myself having some muscle tightness and knee soreness. Most people would just blow this off and keep going (that has always been my mode of operation) but seeing as I've had 5 knee surgeries I think I  have finally learned to "listen to my body." So I told my coach about the pain and she changed my workouts accordingly and recommended I get an injury evaluation from a physical therapist. Being a PT veteran this was not necessarily music to my ears. I have done my fair share of PT and would be fine if our paths never crossed again! But, i guess that's just part of being an athlete and being active. Things break and get worn down. 

I obliged her and got the evaluation and besides stating that I'm a "bio mechanical mess" the news wasn't all that bad! Basically my right (weak side) gluteus minimus and medius aren't firing and are weak. This puts a lot of stress on other parts of my leg like my hamstring, knee and calves, which have been the primary points of contention. The recommendation: 1 month of PT, 2x per week using active release and trigger point therapy. My solution: at the moment I'm not sold on going to the doctor 2x per week, so we have integrated trigger point therapy and rehab exercises into my training routine and I'm hoping this helps. I am supposed to do the PT exercises 2x per day...which is harder than you would think! But ultimately, if it keeps me in the game, is worth it! 

Would love to hear about other people's bouts with therapy, views on Trigger Point, Active Release, etc!  Oh, and I bought some sweet new racing flats that are "green" literally and figuratively! They are super comfy and made 75% from post consumer recycled waste! Pretty awesome! 

Green Silence by Brooks

Silent steps to a Greener future... :)




My VFFs have continued to cause me lots of post-running calf pain so I bought these to switch it up and give my legs more support. Hoping they will be the perfect solution to my knee and calf concerns! Will keep y'all posted! At least they look cool ;) haha!

1 comment:

Christine Nichole said...

I love your green shoes! I'm not a fan of PT either; always feels like "baby exercises"... but if it's working, keep at it! I know how much it means to you to be able to do that triathlon.