Pages

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Saturday's Plans: Running and Hiking

 Yesterday's Workout: lower body strengthening for my injury & lots of stretching
Today's Workout: Scotland Run 10K and ~2.5-3 hours hiking

Today I ran the Scotland Run 10K in Central Park and had a blast (and a 10K PR!). I'll write a race review soon and post it ASAP with some photos. It was a gorgeous day and there was great Scottish entertainment. I bought an IT Band strap and it helped a lot to get me through the race without much pain. Now its time to go cold turkey from running for probably around 2 weeks while I stretch and strengthen. Boo! I'm not sure if I'll be ready for the Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 19 but I'm crossing my fingers in the hopes that I'll be able to. Injuries seriously suck! But we will see, I definitely want to rehab this knee right.

I know I've mentioned IT Band Syndrome a lot lately and during my frantic hours of research about causes, treatments, recovery, etc., I found this awesome stretch. Apparently, IT Band treatment is A LOT of foam rolling, icing, and you guessed it... stretching. Unlike some of the others, I feel this one down my whole leg and even on the side of my knee. Check it out!!

 

After the Scotland Run I went to meet up with some undergraduate college friends in Highlands, NJ for a hike. The four of us spent the day walking and wandering around the trails and had a great time catching up. Pretty much I went from running in the morning to walking all afternoon. I am going to sleep well tonight!

During the hike we got lost a few times but to our defense, the trails were really poorly labeled. Seriously! The day was great. Its so nice to see friends you haven't seen in a while, and when you do hang out its as if no time has passed in between meetings! Plus it was a really nice day out weather-wise and these trails were right near the beach, which made it even more pretty.

 A pier near the bay

 This was when we actually found the right trail. This was how the trails were labeled, by having one of these posts every few miles or so.

J, K, and me. 
L was taking this picture and I'm still waiting for one of the four of us!

Between the race and the hiking, this was a very outdoorsy day for me! My body is a bit sore to say the least, but it was totally worth it. After the hike, we had dinner at Chili's then got some fro-yo and Starbucks, with lots of girly chit-chat throughout. Afterwards we went our separate ways and I tried not to fall asleep while driving. If you were wondering... I made it home alive. My knee is not feeling so great at the moment so its time for some serious icing. And since I'm at my parents house for Easter... Easter candy it is! Yum. I think I earned it today.

What did you do this weekend?

2 comments:

  1. Try running on soft grounds. Trails, grass, etc. This will help strengthen the muscles causing ITB problem. Also, run on the center of the road whenever possible. Many streets have concave shape that if you run on the edges, one leg will land asymmetrical to the other. This often causes ITB problem as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the great tips, I'll definitely try to find some trails to run on instead of asphalt when I am ready to run again. I think the way I run definitely makes a difference (I land on the outside of my foot) so those suggestions will help minimize that. Much appreciated!

      Delete