Foam Roller. Best Purchase. Ever.

The Foam Roller shown to scale in front of the stairs.  I know, right?  That's it?

 
I don't know why I just now bought one of these.  Heaven for my IT Band!  Should have bought this a long time ago!  A friend had suggested it weeks ago and it took a very painful ITB to make me crawl to The Running Store and finally buy one.  If you have ITBS, you need one of these.

Honestly, I did not know what a Foam Roller was until today.  For some reason I imagined it to be more - complicated - for some reason.  When the store showed me to the Foam Roller pyramid display, I literally was like, "What?  That's it?"  Foam Rollers are these firm foam logs/cylinders that help get rid of muscle knots in your body. You get a choice of 6" rollers or 12" rollers.  Most runners use the 6" foam rollers so I went with that.  You basically use your body weight to apply pressure against the roller to ease tight muscles.  For ITBS, you have to lay on your injured side, position the foam roller under the injured thigh, while using your other leg for stability, and then roll the foam roller under the injured thigh.

If that didn't make sense, see the illustration of the lady below doing leg lifts below?  You are in that position with the foam roller under the side of your right thigh and you roll back and forth the length of your IT band.  For support, you don't have your left leg up like that.  You have it crossed over your right leg.  For more pressure, you stack your left leg on top of your extended right leg.  Did that make sense?  :)

Cool thing I learned too is that the foam roller is used for Pilates.  I would love to learn how to use it for other things.  I am slowly learning how to use it to loosen tight knots on my upper and lower back as well.  It's like getting a deep tissue massage and it feels really good!  I'm not expert on foam rolling, but just google it and you'll discover many ways of using it.

Lessons Learned from Injury

Last time I ran was January 2, 2011.  Running those 7 miles was THE best way to start the new year.  It was the longest distance I've done.  So far.  It felt so good.  A half-marathon didn't seem so far out of reach.  I felt empowered....until my right leg started to bother me.  A lot.

The Iliotibial band (ITB) is this long, wide stretch of muscle on the outside of your thigh.  It becomes painful and inflamed when it stretches and rubs against your femur (Iliotibial Band Syndrome or ITBS).  This could be caused by many things from lack of stretching, incorrect shoes, worn shoes, too much downhill running, or over-training.

In my case, I ran too far too soon AND my shoes were so worn out I should not have run in them that day.  Ugh.  Lessons learned from all this?  First one, stick to a training plan - those training plans were designed for a reason - to reduce the risks of injuries as you increase your mileage/speed.  Second, never let your running shoes expire.  Log in the miles you put in them so that you can order/buy the next pair in time before your old pair wears out.  Otherwise?  You will end up waiting - like me - for the new shoes to arrive (it didn't help too that the new line of shoes were coming so the running store near me did not have enough sizes in stock!).

In the end, the wait is good.  Need to be off my feet anyway to heal.  But it is killing me to not be able to run.  I get so jealous when I see a runner outside.  But first thing first.  Need to focus on healing and treating my ITB.  Ah, lessons learned, indeed.  For next time.

Hood to Coast Movie Encore: 02-10-11

If you missed the movie on Jan 11, here's a chance for you to catch the one time encore screening on February 10 at 7:30pm, only in select theaters.  Check out Hood to Coast Movie for a sneak peak and for more info.  My little movie review of it HERE.

Inspiring Runner: Ben Davis in Ben Does Life

I love being inspired by other runners. Meet Ben.  Back in 2008, he found himself in a not-so-happy place in his life.  He was overweight and depressed.  So one day he decided to go for a little run.  He is now a happier man, 120 pounds lighter, a marathoner, and with an Ironman in his belt.  More power to you, Ben!  

Ben's 120 pound journey



Ben's interview and on becoming ambassador to Active Network

Inspiring Runner: Steve Prefontaine

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts."

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."

Steve Prefontaine, legendary U.S. runner who viewed running as an art, an Olympian and former US record-holder in the 5000 meters, died in a car crash at age 24 on May 30, 1975. He would have been 60 years old today.