Mad Manatees 2015.3 CLOSED (or Poptarts? Pet pics?) (Page 42)

I was thinking that rocking chair photo would be fantastic to recreate like 15 years later

While I have never been particularly flexible, as time goes on I get less and less so.  I hate to stretch and it is unlikely I'll ever do anything I hate consistently.  I'm sure yoga would help but that's another time commitment I could not handle and while I don't hate doing it it's not anywhere near the top of my list.

The legs are where I notice it the most too but my back is also tight.  So what to do.?.  I used to worry about it but now just accept it and plan accordingly.  It is worst when I am irregular with my workout sessions.  It is best when I stay active on a daily basis.  I have taken very few complete rest days over the last seven years.  If I'm tired I tend to lighten my workload but still try to get something in.  If I do take a complete day off I know I will be a very slow to warm up the next day and tend to feel a little off.  I'm also much more patient when I begin a workout and allow plenty of time to gradually warm up.  Generally, 500 yards of swimming,  at least a mile of running, and 15-20 minutes when cycling.

I have also found that walking as a cool down after I run helps a lot to avoid post-run tightness.  I plan most of my runs to end a half mile from wherever I'm running from to make sure I get a good walk in before stopping. 

i get very tight too and I think that has led to issues such as a hurt TFL and bursitis in my Achilles. So, I now make time to do a weekly Yin yoga class and I try to remember to do a few post-run stretches. While that is just another thing to fit in, I'd rather find the time than be in running time out due to injury.  It's a lesson I've had to learn a few times!!  I also religiously stretch my shoulder, but that is a post-surgery thing that I hope to be able to stop one day soon!

now to the important question, I spell it y'all, but you will sometimes see it spelled ya'll.  in a few hours I will be in the Smokey Mountains and will hear people say you'uns.  First time I heard that I had no idea what the person had said!  

Yoga.  I find that yin yoga is especially helpful.  I prefer classes since I don't have a good place to do this at home (Kevin having taken up way more than his fair share of space!) but I know that Judi and TJ both have online sources.

If I understand correctly, y'all is short for you all, so putting the apostrophe after the y is correct.  However, that answer is based on my punctuation persnicketiness, not on any actual experiential training.

As for flexibility, one thing I do is use my foam roller and get massages regularly.  Both help with stiffness/soreness.  I also notice that staying active helps.  Like Steve, not doing anything makes me feel worse.  There are days when I hurt and feel like crud but I make myself go to work so I'll be moving around rather than just sitting on the couch or napping.

I use Jasyoga. She's a teacher out of Seattle who is affiliated with Oiselle. I have access to all of her videos online (not downloaded) for $4.99 per month.

For any beer lovers needing incentive to come to CO, here's an article about the Boulder Ale Trail.  Salty, too bad you're not going to be here longer in August!

Stacey, I am woefully inflexible. So, when I am thinking about it, stretching is my go to. If we are sitting down to watch TV or some such thing, I'll lay on the floor for at least 15 minutes, stretching the legs, neck, back, and shoulders.  I don't do it as regularly as I should, but I think it helped during the winter when I was run focused.  Also, every hour or so at work I have found it useful to get up and walk around the building to just try to keep moving. But yeah, as I have gotten along in life, I find my physical flexibility dwindling.

The common theme you're seeing in the various responses is use of the affected muscles/areas. And particularly, use of them throughout the intended range.

Thought you might like that.    Saw this today and thought of you too.  Question:  when you're running up mountains and focused on time, do you miss out on the beauty that you'd see if you just hiked it?  Or do you still have enough attention to spare?

In a race, yeah, you don't get to really enjoy it the way I like to. But that is really the only time I am focused on moving through the mountains as quickly as possible. Generally with races I take time in my warmup and cooldown to soak some of that in. 

But in training, I TOTALLY soak it in. I stop, take pictures, take time to turn around and look behind me (if you don't you can often miss some spectacular views) As it turns out, going up is really hard and you WILL get a workout in, even if you stop to smell the roses.

Also. in regard to your link or other FKT's (fastest known time) attempts...those aren't really my thing and it's specifically because of the reasons you are asking about. I like to run-summit mountains which in contrast to hiking IS faster but I am always sure to capitalize on the views and experiences. It's part of the reason I hesitate to sign up for a lot of longer trail races in scenic locations and would prefer to just run the course at a recreational pace.

I wondered about that.  Seems like this guy is so goal-oriented that the experience would be focused on the speed and strategy rather than the venue.  Seems like a waste to me, but then I'm more interested in venue than speed.  Not being a speedster helps me eliminate that as a motivator.

Also, Mary, I should mention that I have ADD (in case no one picked up on that LOL) and quite frankly running up a mountain vs hiking suits me a little better

But that is also the beautiful thing, we all do these events for different reasons and those reasons tend to be pretty well accommodated.

I'll have to file this away in the back of my mind for if I am ever in the area.  Seems to be a beer renaissance going on around the country.  We have a beer trail in our town that is fairly well established.  There is a tourist map available that you can have each location stamp a box and upon completion the chamber of commerce awards a commerative pint glass.  It has sixteen stops on it.  I have been planning a one day attempt to hit them all with some friends. 

I've seen more about rephrasing this. It's not more is better, but is there enough in the right areas. Contortionists are like wet noodles. Not as much stability and the harder to see spring tension. When built up right, the tension still in there can help return some energy. Part of where some really good runners seem to just bounce right along. It's not as far off as one might think, to some extent at least. Kangaroos really ramp up the idea.

Swimmers have some of that idea too, and yes, in those areas especially. The difference in swimming is that the motions at the extremities is so different from anything else one might normally do during the day that there often needs to be an emphasis made on it. What else has your arms going overhead at such angles? What else has feet bending backwards so much? Running is a much more natural motion so it doesn't take nearly as much to get enough range of motion for a more optimal stride.

OTOH, I find that if I do yoga regularly, I feel better and it enhances both enjoyment and performance when I bike and run.  I find that I have to do some sort of warm up stretch, especially spinal twists, before I swim.  Things just go better if I do that as opposed to get up> drive to pool > swim.

Just today, I ran across this article, 3 Simple Tips for Staying Healthy, which lists post workout stretching as one of three injury prevention techniques.

And for the record, the thing that I hate about yoga is the fact that I am always the least bendy person there.  Sadly un-Gumby like :-(

I had this discussion with our physical fitness coordinator at work a few months ago. He is also an endurance runner. We were discussing the fact that he and I do great on the fitness standards for everything (situps, pushups, run, bmi) except the flexibility. The thing is that some people, my partner for instance, focus more on flexebility than strength.  Having more strength and mass to the muscles will, by nature, limit the flexibility. 

That's an interesting comment. I am reading a book right now http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Born-Heroes-Mastered-Endurance/dp/0307594963(same dude who wrote born to run) but he was talking about how Bruce Lee uses the more spring like energy in fascia rather than sheer muscular strength. 

Might find some more interesting things from this spot on in a thread over here. Well, amongst all the other bickering. (Yanti, you've been warned on this one!) Namely this video and this blog post.