The Movember Run, 2013

So last year my friend Mike Milloy and I put on a charity run to raise funds for the Movember Charity and did very well. This year we couldn't pass up the opportunity to do it all over again. This also lets me help the running community by taking my turn behind the mantel of Race Director and do all the organization type stuff, rather than just show up and run.

A race can be as complicated as you want and we want this one to be really uncomplicated. We choose a well known running route in our local park that is about 6K in length, we keep the cost as low as possible for the runners (while still raising a good amount for charity), and we aim to let everyone have a good time. And as Movember has a fitness theme to it this season, we aim to be as inclusive as possible because we want people getting out and moving.

For the second year in a row we had an outpouring of support from the local business community in the form of food, beverages, prizes, and the ever important tent! We also had a local radio station show up to send the runners off in style, thanks Live 105.

  Thanks to Luke MacDonald and Aerobics First for great prizes and the use of this very nice tent!

The set up and race start got going quickly, and the weather cooperated (yeah it was chilly but it wasn't raining). Mike gave the obligatory speech, the volunteers were in place around the course, the timing device was set, and the runners were sent off.

The race goes through the outer perimeter of the park, up a few steep hilly and turns around at a water table, then back along the same path. Last year we had the fastest runner finish in about 22 minutes, so we assumed it would be a similar time this year. And about 21:30ish or so later we had a winner.

  Then a couple of minutes later our female winner.

We also had some great costumed runners.

A huge mention to our great father daughter team, returning for another year and an even faster run and second place overall.

I must say all the runners, 77 in all (and 86 registered) did a great job and as was the case last year we got it all done in under an hour. Then it was on to the treats with coffee donated by Java Blend, yum, and a great sheet cake from Superstore that was as good to look at as eat.

And a race goes as well as the volunteers that help out. this year we had more than last and that certainly  makes the job easier for the director. Thanks so much guys and gals.

Overall what a great time. So many prizes, some personal best run times, and we raised $2050 for Movember. That is up from last years $1800, so way to go!

A shout out to our sponsors, Sportwheels, Aerobics First, Muphy's The Cable Wharf, Saint Lou's Barbershop, Kinesic Sports Lab, Massage Experts, Kartbahn, Run Nova Scotia, Active Approach Health and Wellness Centre,  Moksha Yoga, Java Blend Coffee Roasters, and Movember Canada.

Awesome stuff Mike.

So Quiet Ian, What's Up?

Hey there. Yes, I have been quite since my last race. I have been taking a much needed rest from training and racing for the month of November. Does that mean I have been sitting on the sofa and doing nothing else? Well no, though I do enjoy sitting on my sofa sometimes.

For the past few weeks and as the rest of November stumbles along, I have been in rehab mode Am I injured? Nope. But during the season I found a few weaknesses that I was only able to partially address. This is predominantly in my hip/glute area on my left side. So what better time to address it than now.

After some intense racing in June, I was attempting to also add in long runs for an upcoming marathon. This didn't work well. I managed to finish June out moderately well, but in the process my hip went wonky. I was unable to get any decent long runs in without some pain, so I opted for a few trips to the my Physio Anita Connors and my Chiro Dr Jason Gray. Both helped immensely and got me back into shape to at least tackle a half marathon. I continued doing my rehab exercises, but time was precious in September, so I didn't get as much in as I liked and still did a few races. I would guess I was at maybe 85-90% for those events, and while I did well, I certainly was not on the same form as I had been earlier in the season.

Now back to November. I have no races that I am dying to do, the weather is cooler and often rainy, and my dogs need some quality play time. So what better time for me to take a step back and reassess. Again though this doesn't mean I do nothing. I still ride my bike to and from work about 36 kms a day. And after 2 weeks off, I have been adding a few short 5km runs every 3 days. But the bulk of my work has been in another area.

Using the information I received from my medical help (see above) and from the great knowledge I have received from Jeff Zahavich at Kinesic Sport Lab, I have been following a very good rehab strength and flexibility program.

Initially I was doing a 20-30 minute daily regime. The main focus is on adding strength to my hips and glutes, but I haven't neglected my upper body and core as well. A series of squates, lunges, planks, push ups and a variety of yoga postures have all been helping me along. This regime has now been moving to every other day and eventually I will ween it down to twice a week as my running and cycling ramp back up.

I also plan on getting reassessed by Anita after November to see if I have been on the right track or if something else is starting to show up. This is where building a relationship of trust with your health care providers is essential.

Anyway, I have also been working a little bit on my race as a race director, the Halfax Movember 6K Trail Run.    As it is in its second year, the work load has not been nearly as great, but still there is lots to do. This race is used to raise money for the Movember Canada movement, and is a big reason I have a moustache as we speak. I hope to post a nice write up of the race in the coming weeks. But if you will be in Halifax on the 23rd of November and want to join us for a mere $25, we would love to have you.

One Last time for the Season - Shubie Half Marathon 2013

Originally I had planned on the Riverport Duathlon being my last race for the year. It was later in the season and I was tired. But an MEC race at the end of October couldn't be missed. The price was right, the course was local and I had done well in the other MEC races this year (I missed one this summer when I was not running).

The options were 5K, 10K or Half Marathon this year. Shubie is really hilly so I decided against my normal 5K, and I had no where near trained for a 10K, so I opted for the half. I decided to enter at the last minute as I wanted to try a few long runs before committing. They seemed to go okay so I signed up.

The day called for rain. Loads of rain. The kind of rain that makes you normally crawl under a blanket indoor rain. So a good day for a Fall run I guess!

Luckily the temperature was going to be warm, and also luckily the rain was not supposed to start until part way through the race. It is rather nice to start dry. It was also good catching up with Ron and Mark before the start (they also ran the half).

Things were running on time and we were beckoned to the start.

The Half Marathoners were to start with the rest of the runners but quickly make a left hand turn, where we would run a 5K loop to start. We were kept off to one side to start but I saw that there might be a bit of a bottle neck 100m in at the turn so I made sure  to get up front. Then bam, we were off.

I knew that my training had fallen away from the summer. From August through September I did a lot of travelling, and I had also spent some of the summer in rehab (injury not alcohol related). I had been getting back into good solid Zone based training in October, but hadn't gotten back to my previous level. Also Shubie is really just constant hills. So my goal was straight forward. Start fast then find a comfortable pace and see what I could do with the hope of a top 3 finish.

I quickly took the lead through the twisty hilly course and felt pretty good. I looked at my pace though and it was sub 4 min/km. That wasn't going to be good, so I backed it down a bit and carried on.

By now the rain was starting, but it was a light drizzle. Still the path was damp and covered in a lot of leaves, so you had to be careful how you took corners and down hills. Also Shubie's paths are quite bumpy and a lot of hazards were hidden.

I kept the lead through the first 5K loop where it was nice to see Luke as I ran by. We then started onto the 11K portion of the run, which followed the 10K route, plus a bit.

By this time we were starting to meet the faster 5K runners on their way back to the start. That was really fun. The rain was also picking up by this point. Now this section of the run has the bigger ups and downs and I was starting to feel that. Still by the time I passed the 5K turn around sign I was still leading. But alas not for long.

At 8Kish I was passed by the lead male and female runners. They had a good pace going and I realized that I had drifted off my own pace quite a bit. So I tried to pick it up and hold onto their heels. Alas, they slowly pulled away and I didn't feel like I could waste anymore energy this early. I was, after all, still in third overall and 2nd place in the men's category.

It seems quite cruel when you reach the 10k turn around point, but have to run passed it. I ran through and grabbed a sport gel, which as always for me is chocolate (the one flavour I hate while running). I knew this section would be just over 1 km in length, so I wanted to get that gel down and grab a water from the table on the way back. I nibbled on that gel the whole way to the turn around and back, grabbed a water and kept going, with the third place male not too far behind.

By now the rain was in full force, just pouring down. I frequently was hitting deep puddles and wondering if it might be better to run in the canal or lakes by the trail. The edges of the trail were mud and thick leaves, so it was no place to run either.

I managed to work my way back to the finish line, which for the half marathoners meant 1 final 5K loop to go, still hanging onto 3rd place overall with what I hoped was enough of a lead.

 This section was nice to see as I had been here before and knew it well enough. The corner workers/ volunteers were still smiling despite the weather. I was still feeling strong enough to hold my pace in the low 4 min /km world and though the path was quite twisty I was not seeing the guy behind me. It wasn't until the long straight section half way through the final loop where I could really gauge my lead, and by this point it did not look huge. I felt willing to continue my risky running and plow through the twisty soaking leaf filled section right after the straight away, praying that my feet would hold me steady. And they did.

Finally the trees parted and the finish line was in sight, just 4 or 5 more turn to go in the last few hundred meters. I didn't bother to glance back as I knew I was well free and just happy to see thee end of this race. As I hit the final straight to the finish I saw the big clock read 1:29:xx, so I pushed it to keep my sub 1:30 streak alive. And tada! I did. 1:29:36 for a 4:16 min/km pace average. Second place male. Not too bad for the conditions and course. Great to see that my legs still had some oomph. And my average heart rate was right in Zone 4 where I like to run my half marathons. I did hit the Zone 5 world a bit more than I would like, but with these hills it is hard not to.

This was a really well attended and put on event and I am glad the rain didn't dampen everyone's spirit. 75 people ran this late season half marathon on a crazy hard course, which considering how many Full and Half Marathons there were leading up to this, is amazing.

So I finish the MEC local running series with A 2nd, 1st, 2nd and 2nd place medal. That feels really good. And thanks to the early season work I did with Jeff Z and the Kinesic Sports Lab, I was primed for all sorts of goodness.

So number 3 under my belt for the year and all three under 1:30. Now I take a break from the world of training until December when my next training season begins. Some light running and cycling will fill my days, plus some good strength and rehab training over the next month. And of course my Movember Fun Run will be held on the 23rd of Nov in Point Peasant Park. Looking for a 6K good time run? Sign on up.

http://www.atlanticchip.ca/events/details.php?show=1239

Riverport Duathlon 2013 Report

Well last weekend was the final multisport event of the 2013 season. And it has been quite the season indeed, starting way back with Tri the Oval on February 17th.

Anyway, for once the weather at this race wasn't crazy wet and windy. In fact the wind was a dull breeze, the sun was shining and all was good. Sure it was a bit chilly at 4C for race start, but it was so nice to see the sun.

After signing in, chatting a bit, and having our pre race meeting, we lined up and were off!

I knew that with the competition around me I would have to give the first 4 km run of this duathlon all I had. So I did not hold back at all. I felt good at the 2 km turn around and realized I had built a tiny gap and was running in third place. Sadly, the gap in front of me was already large and I was not catching those guys. But I pushed pushed pushed to maintain my slight lead and not let my pace drift off. I came into T1 still in third and with a 11 seconds of lead. My total time was 14:27 for a 3:37 min/km pace.

It is always nice to enter the transition zone early and see all the bikes still there. And this year I had a new bike to run and grab. Alan Miner had lent me his proper triathlon time trial bike to see how I would fare. Though I hadn't had much time to practice with it, I was looking forward to that challenge.

I was about 4 kms in by the time I got passed by a few guys who were all quite tight together, though at least at this point it wasn't in a drafting kind of way. Still I was able to maintain my pace on the bike and not kill my legs. Sadly, though, even as I was able to keep up with the 2 guys in front, they were drafting quite badly and managed to pull away a bit more than I would have liked. And it was frustrating to watch as one of the guys even used illegal tactics to gain an advantage going around corners (sweeping over the yellow line). Still, all you can do is race as clean as possible. 

Coming into T2 I let up a little and shook out the legs. Then I slipped out of my bike shoes and jumped off the bike right before the dismount line. All very clean and good and I was into the TZ mounting my bike on the rack. Sadly I also clipped my left running shoe and then had to chase after it, losing maybe 3-4 seconds. Not a big deal, but still, a little annoying. My total time, including T1 was 49:20 for the 28 km ride for an average speed of 34.1 km/hr. 

At this point my Garmin watch had stopped working. I knew that the battery in it was near the end of life, but I had hoped to get one more race out of it. Sadly this was not to be. So off I ran for the second 4 km run and had to go by feel. I needed to make up some time and pull myself out of the 8th place spot I was currently in. So I pushed the pace early on. Eventually I passed 2 people and pulled out a sizable lead on them. Still having no idea of my actual pace I tried to pull up on the 2 runners in front of me, but things were starting to hurt just a little too much. I did manage to pull back a lot of time on those guys, but sadly didn't have enough to catch them by the end of such a short hard run.

I was very happy to see that I managed the thirds fastest time again for this run, and also kept my average pace low with a time of 15:44 and a pace of 3:56. I also see that amount the top runners I was second best at maintaining my pace with only a slight drop in average speed. That bodes well for the future.

In all I managed to complete the duathlon in 1:19:30, some 2 minutes faster than last year and in 6th place overall. Huzzah!

So, no more multisport for the season and likely only one more running race of note. My big plans now are putting on my 6K Movember run fundraiser on the 23rd of November. It was a great event last season, and we are hoping for just as much fun this time around!  

MEC Musquodoboit Trail 5km Run Race Report - 2013

So I have had a crazy month. Back from Iceland at the beginning, and right back at the rehab for my hip. Then I had company for over a week, so limited training (but loads of fun) then off to the West Coast for work, where there was actually no place to run. I managed one little 6 km trail run for fun, but spent most of my time on islands with a beach that was no more than 500 meters long and covered in wet thick round stones.

Anyway, I had hoped this year to be doing the usual Rum Runner Relay thing, but I wasn't going to be home in time, so I had to give up my spot of the team. As I hadn't planned on being home until super early Sunday morning, I had also assumed that my whole weekend would be shot anyway. But I did end up coming home super early Saturday instead, giving me a recovery day and a chance to do something on Sunday.

Well a quick check online showed me that MEC had a trail run planned that day. And at $15, well how could I pass that up. With the Riverport Duathlon coming up this weekend, I opted to run the 5 km event. This was a two fold reason, 1. I hadn't been training much for distance so a 15 km run would be hard and a 10 km run would be far too slow for my liking and 2. I wanted to see what sort of speed I had left after a summer without much training.

I lined up at the start line and looked around. I knew no one and had no clue what sort of pace anyone else would be running. So it was down to just doing my best and seeing what sort of gas was in the tank.

From the start I surged ahead, hitting a comfortably hard pace. I checked the Garmin and it said 3:08 min/km. Hmmm, I thought, that might be a bit ambitious. Still I figured I would hold that for the first half a kilometer then drop into my usual 5 km pace.  Either someone would have to surge up and catch me or else I would be able to keep the lead I had built.

Well I kept it for the first half of the race anyway, falling into a  3:45 min/km pace. My heart rate was way high though, top of  Zone 4 and dipping into Zone 5. Could I hold this for long? Well I kept going with it because I had no option at this point.

By 3 kilometers into the race I was caught by one guy. He pulled up and asked how fast we did the first 2.5 kms. I hadn't really checked and had no clue, but it was pretty fast. At this point he was close to my speed, but he certainly wasn't breathing as hard as I was. I knew that if he pulled away I was doomed. I stayed on his heels for the next kilometer, but with 1 to go, he kept his speed up and I had a few dips, dropping to above 4 min/km for a few times. As I fell off his feet I had no chance to surge back up and decided to do my best to maintain as best as I could.

My heart was still blasting through my chest and my breathing was really hard, but my legs (and most importantly hip) felt great. I saw the finish line clock and tried to pull off a bit of a sprint at the end but just couldn't beat the 18:40 mark and settled for 18:41 at the line. Good enough for second overall and while not my best 5 km run, at least it was still good and fast and nice to see that my speed wasn't completely gone.

Congrats to the winner, who himself had been coming back from injury. And third was not too far behind, though couldn't quite dip below 19 min.

Next up the Duathlon final for the year. Can't wait.

Ian's Return to Running and the Iceland Half Marathon 2013

So it happened. I was able to pull something good running wise out of the summer. My hip finally on the mend, and I was off to Iceland, first to run the Half Marathon and second to explore and enjoy a new to me country.

Of course my plan had been to run the full marathon, but my previously discussed  hip injury made that plan fall away. So my options for Iceland (which was an already booked trip) were to run nothing, run the 10K or run the half marathon. I opted (due to a few easy paced training runs in the weeks before my trip) for the half. I was actually more concerned with trying to run the 10K as I felt that with a shorter distance I might forget the fact that I hadn't done any fast speed work and attempt to kill myself. A half would require a little bit of holding back and that seemed to fit the bill a little more.

We arrived in Reykjavik the day before the race, and after a little bit of walking around and resting up attended the expo.

I never did find out this guy's name, but he was the official marathon "spokesman." This expo was small, similar in size to the Bluenose Marathon. There were some companies with supplements, some free samples of dairy products and mostly booths of sportswear. Iceland is very expensive. Sneakers seemed to run around $300 or so, sales on clothing still didn't come down to regular retail in Canada. So if you plan on running this race in the future, bring everything you need.

Then onto the registration room for packet pickup.  

A very simple process. I never saw a line up, maybe because we went at the right time, or maybe because the process took 5 minutes total. Pickup bag with bib and magazine of information, and chip and then head over to the chip table to activate. They use the championship chips, but make them tie them to your shoes. This means unlacing things and I didn't really like that as I use speed laces. Luckily you can ask for some small zip ties and that worked much better.

Pace bunnies are available for the half and full, but rather than give specific finishing times, they give pace ranges. They also run with balloons tied to themselves so they are easy to spot. And as the marathon and half runners all start together and run with each other until the 18 km mark, it means you only need one set of pace bunnies. They also use these colours to designate where you should line up for the start.

You finish up the expo with a pasta dinner, included in the registration price. This is really nice for people travelling in from away as it means you get that one good meal in before you need to crash from travelling.

Then it was back to the apartment for the evening.

Race day arrived and sadly it was cold and wet. And I mean pretty darn cold for an August race at 8C. We headed to the start line early as it was 30 minute walk from our apartment. Luckily they have a bag drop at this race, though for a race with 10,000 plus entrants, it is rather a lot to be showing up into the tiny race day building they use. Again, though, things are done fairly well. The half marathon and full start together and the 10K (by far the most popular race) doesn't start until 1 hour after and the 3K family fun run starts 1 hour after that. this really keeps things manageable. And with the million or so portable toilets, there are no lines. Perfect for when it is raining on you. By the way bag drop is really just the people giving you a plastic bag with your number on it and you leave it in an open room and hope. Though there seemed to be exactly no problems.

The loud speaker start to announce things. I had no idea what the heck was being said, but the crowd moved to the start line. I had no real plan for this race, but hoped I had enough oomph in me to run under 1:40 and secretly I wondered if my pre season training was still kicking around inside me somewhere. But if my hip started to hurt I knew I would have to pull up and walk the rest of the race and I was okay with that.

I aimed for the 4:11 - 5:00 minute/km pace bunny. I figured I should fit in there somewhere. I was very cold at this point having shed all but my race attire and realizing that after I started to run, too many clothes would be a detriment. Luckily, we heard a few announcements and we were off quickly.

I found what i thought was a good feeling pace, but decided to check my Garmin anyway and yes, far too fast. After I got around a few more runners and found a clear patch to run in I gradually started to ease back to a more suitable pace. Still this left me quite near the front of the race and that felt very nice.

After a few kilometers, all the "hills" fell away and we were left with a flat race and I had found my groove. All my various parts felt fine and my pace was a nice 4:09 average or so. My plan was to rely on race course nutrition other than bringing one gel with me, more for the caffeine than the sugar. Still good to have just in case. I figured I would eat it around 9km in, just before the second water stop.

The Iceland marathon offers water and Poweraid at most stops. The stops are every 5km (ish) and are huge, so you get plenty of opportunity to drink, though beware, the cups are full!

My nutrition went well with a few gulps of Poweraid and water at each stop, my gel at 9km in. My heart rate was initially in the high Z3, but crept easily into Z4. I knew I could hold that for awhile, but hadn't really tested out just how long due to my summer of rehab. But my breathing was under control, I felt calm and had no pains.

We wound our way through Reykjavik and it was a pleasure to take in the sights, even with the drizzle and cold temps. I definitely saw a few sights I needed to go check out later on. A few times we left the road and took to the multiuse paths. Also you have to be aware of the speed bumps. But ultimately the course is an extremely easy running surface.

I had fun pacing off a few others and toying with a few other runners. It was important to glance on down at people's bibs as their colour would tell you which race they were in. No use competing with a full marathoner at this point.

I crossed the 10K mark at 41:39. This pleased me to no doubt as I still felt good and strong and that was fairly close to my Bluenose Half time. It also turns out to be the second fastest 10K of the day for a Canadian, the other coming from someone running the 10K race. That felt nice as well.

The next food stop was at the 16km mark. First a drink of Poweraid  followed by water and then low and behold an offering food. Bananas bits or small, well I had no idea. I wasn't feeling the banana so I grabbed the brown lump and found out it was a Mars Bar. A very cold and hard to eat Mars Bar that got stuck in my teeth for the next 3 kilometers. Oh well.

I found the banana thing funny as the ground was littered with banana peels after the food stop. Seriously, banana peels and runners.

But 16 km in was also a small switch back hill which marked the end of my oomph. Yup, the legs felt okay, but the fitness and cardio decided to give up. I can see it in my heart rate chart which I looked out after the race. the next 2 kilometers were relatively draggy at a 4:17 avg pace (I once looked down and saw 4:23). The group I was running with started to pull away and I mentally faded as well and dropped off. My muscles began to ache, which I didn't know if was really ache or just my mind playing tricks on me.

The problem here was that i knew if I slowed down, I would not be able to speed back up. I was going to have to finish this thing out on momentum. Then a song came on my MP3 player, Sun King by The Cult. It had just enough pep and I dragged myself out of my mental funk. We also start to run by the slower runners at this point as well. Many were only 10km into the race and smiling, or stopping to take pictures. They seemed to be having fun. That was nice to see.

I found a little more speed, though I was passed by another runner at the 19 km mark. I managed to hang with him as we went through the final round about (there are loads of those) and entered the finish line shoot. I was so happy to have pulled through and was running side by side with my new friend. I didn't think I had anything left and didn't really care if he surged ahead at this point. I was high fiving little kids all down the finish line straight and then saw the finish line clock. It was slowly ticking towards 1:28 and I surged. I pushed through by Viktor Jens Vigfússon (I looked that up in the results) and managed a gun time of 1:28:04 and a chip time of 1:27:56. Not a PB, but a personal best recovery I think and a mental win as well. It turned out to be good enough for 44th overall, 35th man, and 19th in my Age Group. Also I was the fastest Canadian for the half.

Now the bad things: you need to stop after the race and get that chip off your shoe and give it back or pay $100 fine. That isn't easy for a lot of people, especially with super cold fingers. Also I had no way of snipping the zip ties on my chip and had to wait 10 minutes for them to get clippers. Then you leave, get a drink of Poweraid or Water, some chocolate raisins and that's it. No post race party. Too bad, as that is the greatest time to bond, and it is a great time to meet people from away (especially if you are from away). Here you just grab your stuff and head home.

Now the good things: The full and half run a different course than the 10km and have different parallel finishing lines. This means no getting mixed up with slower runners, except for a few of the fastest marathoners running home with a few slower half marathons. That was great to see. And due to the race being in Iceland, you get a coupon for free entrance into one of the thermal pools around the city for that day or the next. How nice is a geothermal mineral pool on tiered legs? Well just perfect.  So good we went back 2 more times. 10C and a 40C pool of salt water? Priceless.

This is definitely a race that makes for a fun destination. The city is easy to navigate, the race is well staffed and put on, and if you stick around there are tons of things to do in the city or nearby. Iceland is pricey but if you do a little planning you can see and do a lot for a reasonable amount of money. Oh and the night of the race is Culture Night where the downtown shuts down to all but foot traffic and musicians and DJ's from all around setup. Very cool way to end the day.


 

Ian's Rehab Summer of 2013

So I had some plans for this summer. Train, train, train and then run a marathon. I had no plans to race, just train. But sadly my hip had other plans. Seems my stellar early racing season pushed my limits just a little too much, and I didn't head my own advice and rest enough to deal with the stress of racing.

I had hoped that some rest after my early racing season would be enough. Then I hoped I could solve things myself by working out the main causes of the problem. That again, sort of helped (see last post) but not enough. Then I hoped that massage and Active Release therapy would fix things. And while they did help immensely, I needed a little extra help getting to the route of my hip problem.

So off to Physio for Ian. I went to see Anita Connors, whom I had met while training in the RE:201 running program earlier this year. At that point she and her husband had located some of my weaknesses and given me exercises. I did them, though probably not enough and as happens to many people, I let them slide away as the season went on.

A new thorough exam and we came up with a plan of attack. The constant pounding of the mileage I did this Spring coupled with a hip imbalance finally led to internal bruising and super tight muscles in my glutes. Rest and exercises would do the trick, but we could certainly speed things up with some fancy physio equipment as well.

What can one expect doing physiotherapy? Well of course it all depends on what the injury is and how well you respond to treatment. But I will explain my therapy so that you can get an idea of what you might expect, realizing also that you can decline any part of a treatment if you feel uncomfortable or skeptical.

After a full exam we started with a series of small exercises. These were to address some of the rotational issues I was having. We also did some physical manipulation of the muscles (which I had been doing with my chiropractor as well). Some stretches are rather difficult to do by yourself, especially ones that need to be held for longer periods of time and or need to be progressive in how much effort you put into them. These exercises were generally done after some from of heat treatment to get the muscles more able to accept the stretch.

I would also do these exercises at home and as the sessions progressed I was given more exercises to deal with the growing strength I was developing. These included single leg squats which morphed into up and overs, 2 legged squats with an exercise band, hip abductor side leg raises, crouched side walks, and side planks.

Now all of those can easily be done at home and I did that, but it does help to know when it is time to start each exercise and when I did these exercises in front of Anita or a staff member they could critique (very handy) and they could also add in a muscle stim device to get better results.

Now what else did I learn? Swelling is a sign that too much blood is getting to an area to deal with damage. More blood is a good thing, until too much gets in and basically gives you too much of a good thing. So getting the swelling down and getting good blood flow restored is a must. Ibuprofen will help, but should be limited in its use. So at physio we use heat a lot and there are different ways to get that heat in. First we started with hot/damp heat from heat pads, then we progressed to short wave, which send short wave radiation (like radio waves) deep into the muscle and man does that heat up. In the early sessions we also used ultra sound which I was told would help reduce swelling as well. This was eliminated in future sessions when it was apparent that the deep swelling was done.

I ended each session with acupuncture, which is really quite harmless if done by a trained professional, but completely conditional if you are truly needle phobic. Acupuncture may help in the reduction of swelling and inflammation, it may increase nerve action in areas where muscles aren't firing correctly or it may do nothing. The rest of the treatment certainly was helping and all  the needles cost me were an extra 15 minutes. Plus they were cool, so I did it.

During the process I also continued to ride my bike and take strength classes with Jeff Zahavich at his new gym, Kinesic Sports Lab. I also would run once a week. Before treatment each run would end with a sore hip. Now I was running a little further each time until this last weekend when I ran a pain free 18 km's.

So my marathon plan is shot for this year and that is okay. I wasn't ready for it obviously. Another half in its place? Yup, though no way near ready for a personal best run, just a nice day out in Iceland.

Got a problem running, biking or doing another physical activity? Don't think it is the end, so many issues are just simple fixes (sure they might take a bit of time) and you can be back to training again. And don't train or fight through pain, just see someone.