Hey friends! I know, I know. I have been MIA again. Grad school + work really kicks your ass over and over again until you end up sick. Like I am right now. Okay, I got sick cause everyone around me was sick and decided to go to work. Nothing serious- just a lot of long naps, hot tea, and Friends on Netflix.
Since I last posted, I have been working on half marathon training. I ran my sixth (WOO! Funny to think that I just started running mid-2013) half marathon on Sunday! More on that later.
My new routine has been to runch (run during lunch) with some girl friends at work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s so great to get out and get some fresh air and get those legs moving. Plus, my workout for the day is done! It’s not easy when you work full-time and go to grad school, to find time to fit those workouts in. When you have friends counting on you and you know you won’t have to workout on your own at night, it’s much harder to bail! We only have time to go 3-5 miles, but that’s about how long most of my short runs are anyways.
This wasn’t taken on our runch but it’s around the same area and was taken on one of my runs. Just go with it.
Also, on Mondays and Fridays, our company has pilates classes onsite. I tried my first class this Monday and I’m hooked! I’ll definitely be back. It’s not really like any pilates I’ve done- it’s more like a HIIT (high intensity interval training) class with slow core and weights mixed in. So FUN!
Now, back to the half marathon training. After I ran my first marathon, followed by a half marathon 1 week later, followed by a 10K 2 weeks later, my IT band has been angry at me. Go figure. Some people can do this. I am not one of those people. At least not yet.
Any time I would run over 5-ish miles, I could feel my IT band pull at my knee and then travel up to my hip. Fun stuff. I have been resting it as much as I can (that’s a lie), rolling, and strength training to try to fix the problem.
Maybe that’s why the foam rolling isn’t helping ;)
I finally bought some Rock Tape after a bunch of you told me to! My pirate friend is a fan of the Rock Tape! My next issue was, how the heck do I apply this stuff? Of course I can watch YouTube videos, but it’s always better if someone teaches you in person.
I look just like that girl when I apply it too
Luckily, a family friend (of Kyle’s family) is a retired physical therapist. She’s amazing and super knowledgeable and offered to show me how to use the stuff. I found out 2 things on this visit other than how to apply the tape:
1. I have huge thighs
Yes thanks. I’ve known that for a while now.
2. I’ve been standing wrong my whole life
Whatttt? Yeah. Kind of bums you out when you find out that you are performing a basic human function incorrectly. #failatlife
So I’ve mentioned before that I over-pronate like it’s my job.
Basically when I stand, my arches collapse completely and this causes my knees to turn inward and hyperextend.
This photo demonstrates my runder thighs (although my thighs were big before running) and the inward knee issue
I was told that because of all of this, if I don’t correct how I stand (collapsed arches, inward knees, hyperextension), I WILL definitely have knee issues when I’m older. YIKES! I really don’t want that.
So I was given some major homework of standing properly. It feels incredibly weird, and after a tough workout, I really feel all these new muscles that were clearly sleeping on the job for 24+ years. I basically force my feet to have an arch, distribute all my weight evenly on my feet fat pads, and make sure to keep loose knees.
I feel like I look like this:
I’m off to go practice standing.
Also, pretty pleaseeee help Kyle and myself out! We want to win a Valentine’s Day photo contest. All you have to do is click here and like our photo :) If we win I’ll teach you how to stand.
Have you had IT band issues? What did you do to fix it?
Have you used kinesio tape?
How many of you are wondering if you are standing incorrectly ;)?
