Tag: stretching

Injury Prevention 102

Published on by saraandhersolesLeave a comment

Nope, you read that correctly. I’m calling this “Injury Prevention 102” because there are things I do every run that not only protect my body from sprained ankles or whacked out backs and inflammation, but from chafing, stomach issues and more. Because let’s face it, any sort of pain, whether internal or external, can be considered injury – especially if there’s ways to stop it. From the obvious to the not-so, here’s a few tips to prevent injury while running:

  1. Vaseline is your bestie. Your BFF. Your Soul Sistah. Before a run, rub it anywhere and everywhere that bounces, jiggles or rubs – no shame. Chafing is a bitch and unlike post-run exhaustion, it can hang around for days.
  2. Drink lots of electrolytes, before and after longer runs. Your stomach bounces around quite a bit when that mileage starts to rack up which will have a bad effect on you as soon as mile three. Try Nuun hydration tabs – one the night before, one before your run starts and if you’re feeling any sort of stomach pain, one after. Aside from that, extra electrolytes will keep you from dehydrating during your run.
  3. Eat more food. Pre-run, get your good carbs and fats, post-run, get your protein. When your body loses energy – which food provides naturally for us – you’ll become sluggish, lose form, lose focus, maybe even get light-headed.
  4. Post-run may be the most important part of your run. Take the time to stretch – and stretch everything. My favorites include pigeon pose and forward lunging into my hips. (There’s probably a simpler term for that but I like to be descriptive… yeah, that’s it.) If anything feels particularly sore, ice it. Take an Epsom Bath. Foam roll. Then stretch some more. Spoil that body – it carried you far.

Why Shakira and I are Soul Sisters

Published on by saraandhersoles1 Comment

After a few months of painful strides, it took a trip to my primary care doctor and a physical therapist to discover that like Shakira, my Hips Don’t Lie. Hilarity aside, they then proceeded to tell me the worst thing you could ever tell a person like me: “You have to take a break from running.”

Oh baby when you talk like that, you make a runner go mad.

Greetings, this blog comes to you from my bathtub where I’m currently indulging in a hot bath with Dr. Teal’s Pre and Post Workout Epsom Salt. Sorry, no basic white girl pictures of my legs will be included in this post.

The pain was a mixture of Bursitis (inflammation in my hips) and having run my body out of sync. While pounding your feet on the pavement is very rough on the body, my injuries could have been avoided had I been paying better attention to my recovery. IE, I wasn’t stretching enough and quite possibly, wasn’t hydrating right, nourishing properly or rewarding my body with the right things. After a few months of physical therapy, trips to the chiropractor and solely upper body workouts, I was ready to get back on the streets and rack up my mileage, but not without a few extra precautionary recovery practices. My favorite? A twenty minute Epsom Salt bath three to four times a week.

As noted above, Dr. Teal’s is my favorite brand as it’s easy to find and often comes with some extras, like great smells or added ingredients for more relaxation. The Pre and Post Workout mix is my favorite, followed by Lavender and Mint. Epsom Salt is high in magnesium which wards off heart disease, stroke, stress-related illness and more (editor’s note: unless ‘love’ is a specialty, I am not a doctor). For athletes, epsom salt baths are great for reducing inflammation, increasing joint mobility, easing muscle pain,  and mood elevating. Better mood = better workout. Plus, it will remove toxins from your muscles which could cause a delay in recovery.

Personally, I think Epsom baths are overlooked all too often, so when someone tells me they are struggling from sore muscles, I give them this simple remedy.

Extra pro-tip: Evoke Fitness once shared with us that drinking a 4oz glass of red wine was equivalent to a one hour workout. So, pour yourself a glass, workout and wind down all at the same time! If it weren’t for the fact that it’s Race Week, I would definitely be sipping a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon right now.

So next time you’re doing the waddle from a brutal training session, dive in! Well… not head first and you can go suit-less, but… you get the point.