Is there something that would improve your life if you made time for it every.single.day?
My boyfriend, Tom, would say it would be tidying up (it would at least stop him nagging me). My Mum would probably say it would be organising my finances. My Grandfather would say it’s studying.
But this is a running blog, so I’m obviously going to say it’s something to do with running/fitness, right?
Right.
If I could force myself to do something every day without fail, it would be the stretches and strengthening moves given to me by the wonderful Sarah at Six Physio.
If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m currently suffering with ITB syndrome and have been dealing with some aspect of ITB/knee issues on and off for 5 years. The trend goes like this – I run, I run more, my knee starts to hurt, I stop running for a bit, knee stops hurting, I run again. Repeat….
But this time it just was not getting better, so it was time to do some more in-depth research which started with an MRI and hopefully will end with a fit and healthy Runner Bean on the New York City Marathon start (and finish) line.
When I have a proper 16 week marathon training plan, like I did or the Berlin Marathon, I follow it to a tee. However, when it comes to the stretching and strengthening, the ‘boring’ part, I find it really hard to stick to it. Which means that I don’t see progress there. I’m supposed to be doing the specific workouts every day, but actually I’m probably only managing them 3-4 times a week max. Am I surprised that I’m not improving as fast as I’d like? No.
And this can be the same for whatever YOU are trying to achieve. Whether it’s in your workout, healthy eating, education, work, side project or whatever you’re trying to get ahead at and improve.
Could you set your alarm 10 minutes earlier, find 10 mins on your lunch break, or set aside the 10-15 mins before bed to do this ONE thing?
Make it your priority each day, it’s something I have had to do to ensure that I complete my knee rehab.
I’ve seen Sarah at Six Physio Fleet St twice, where I’ve run on the treadmill and had her assess my running technique, going through strengthening exercises, and with a little bit of sports massage. I love that as a runner herself, Sarah specialises in running injuries, and so far our sessions have been very focused on getting me back up and running pain free. Additionally, she’s given me some stretches to help improve my running form – something that she thinks could be directly affecting my injury. In particular we’re working on loosening up my back and shoulders.
What would be the one thing you could do everyday that would improve your life right now? How can you make time for it?
Photos taken by Will Patrick.
This was exactly my challenge – I did get up 10 minutes earlier each day and did some physio exercises. I also did some while I brushed my teeth! I completed my first marathon on Sunday in Brighton.
I went to Six Physio last year when I was suffering from some knee pain. I was about to climb Mount Kilimanjaro so I needed to get pain-free pretty quickly and they were SUPER helpful. Agree though – sticking to those “boring” stretches is tough.
Hi. I used to have the same problem when I ran. I changed my trainers, tried physio with strength and conditioning working, but the issues of painful knees was still there. Then I got lucky and was refered to a knee specialist by my GP, after an MRI scan he found that I had an inflamed Plicae.
Plicae are folds in the synovium. Plicae rarely cause problems but sometimes they can get caught between the femur and kneecap and cause pain.
I had them in both knees, so after 2 key-hole surgeries, six months apart over 4 years ago, I’ve never looked back. I’ve completed 3 marathons and I never had knee pain since. So ask about the Plicae, you never know. Hope you get it sort and all the best.
Six Physio are brilliant, I saw Jonathan there a few times last year and he massively helped me out when I was suffering from a problem with sciatic nerve and also ITBS. I find I only make time to do the exercises when I am actually injured though which defeats the purpose!
I have been struggling with ITBS as well! I was good for a couple years but had a flare up during a half marathon last fall. I have been to PT and got some strengthening exercises including the one you wrote about. I hope you get back to running pain-free!
I have had itb issues in the past and was useless at doing my exercises! Right now I need to be focused on doing exercises daily to strengthen my core post pregnancy.. I’m getting back to running plus constantly picking up / carrying my (pretty chunky) baby boy so I need to be strong to protect my back. So far got as far as saving a core strengthening routine to my phone!