Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Mother of All Knots


I'm not sure it's a good idea to write a blog post having consumed 2 Tylenol PM's about 15 minutes ago ... but here I go anyway.....

Here's my vent for the day; I'm going to limit it to one because if I get too much on a roll, I may not stop. So here it is. I am overly sick and tired of the glute/calf KNOTS I keep developing. I went to massage therapy with Elizabeth yesterday, you know the masochistic Nazi-therapist who likes to inflict as much physical torture on me that she possibly can. She has a totally different approach to getting the pain out by putting as much physical force into the problem area, grinding away at the deep tissue, gnawing at it until I literally want to scream - whereas Charlie, the massage therapist I used to go to, but was not available in September when I had some major pain (and therefore I had to scramble to find Elizabeth quickly), has a more subtle approach by "pushing" around the annoying problem. I don't know who is better, E certainly torments me while I am there, all the while saying, "Don't cringe, don't fight it." Huh? How do you not fight being tortured to death? But I have to say, I walk away feeling really good and the next day! Ahhh! Charlie, I don't immediately feel better upon his massage, but I do later...and honestly, Charlie and I have a connection of sorts; I've seen him now and then for almost 2 years and well, he just knows me. He knows how emotionally attached I am to these races and he spends about 15 minutes talking to me before he starts working his magic on me, learning about what's going on in my life. There's something to be said about that. I prepaid for Charlie sessions before he threw his back out and therefore left me stranded and seeking athletic souls I knew for a new massage therapist. Found Elizabeth. Paid Elizabeth for a few sessions in advance, since I could save bucks this way and that's how I'm now using two massage therapists.

I have one session left for both. Two total.

And that's it. I'm not going back to either, unless I have some major excruciating pain that cannot be run out on it's own.

It's not, necessarily, due to cost - though this is certainly a factor. But I seriously think that the instant I run, all the mess comes back, to some degree. Elizabeth touched my right calf yesterday and said, "Wow, that's the mother of all knots." Her and I got into a little discussion about the why's and preventions and came up with no profound explanation nor solution. *sigh*

So, I'm going to use my last two massage therapy sessions and then I'm going to stretch! And stretch and stretch. And stretch. And strrreeeetttchhhh! I am. I even started tonight by stretching the heck outta my calf cuz it was yelling at me while I was doing some intervals. Which, btw, I failed miserably at yesterday so pulled all my will together tonight and knocked out 9x1200's at a 6:44 pace. Them weren't easy, no sir, but I hung in there and cranked out a total of 10.75 miles. On intervals!!

I'll close this post with my ADD moment for today: I looked at my clock this morning and thought it said 5:25, when it actually said 5:35. I work out with Rob at 5:30 and I live about 6 minutes away (at that hour in the morning, anyway). Yeah, I was a tad bit late for that workout. Never-the-less, I had a good strength training/core workout immediately followed by a mile at 7:30 (trying to teach the body to keep running while fatigued) and then tonight, the rocking 1200's. One wonders why I need the Tylenol PM....

8 comments:

Katie A. said...

Oh man, calf pain is the worst!
Have you tried rolling? Some people use foam rollers...I on the other hand use a rolling pin! Yes, the one I used to bake with (don't worry, it isn't anymore!) It works really well...just remember to go in one direction not back and forth. I usually get the hubbs to roll me out and he loves to inflict the pain! Good luck lady!

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

I think stretching stretching stretching is the way to go. All that massage sounds a bit painful!

Hope those Ty p.m.s worked for you!

26.2 Princess said...

Thanks for posting on my blog. Glad to have found yours too. And thanks for the heads up about the Boston hills. Loved reading your race report from this year's. Congrats!

busyrunningmama said...

That is crazy fast running!! Thanks for commenting on my blog- we opted for no monetary reward on the grades, just tons on hugs and saying how proud we were!!!
Glad I found your blog... I hate that you have calf knots... I've heard foam rolling helps and lots of stretching... I wish I could run even 1/2 mile without pain, so jealous to read about over 10 miles of intervals, insane!!!

Dennis said...

When I saw the title of your blog, I thought maybe you had a big knot in your shoelace. :)

As you know I've had a lot of calf problems over the last year, in both legs, knots, tears, pulls and tightness. I think for me, it is build up of scar tissue from speed work and races with some dehydration mixed in there. Plus my running form (on my toes) puts a lot of pressure on my calfs

I tried a lot of things, but I think the combination of stretching, yoga, rest after hard days, hydrate, massage (every 2 weeks) and accupuncture every 4 weeks are what got me healthy and helped me train without further injury. Wish I knew which one for sure was the cure or if it takes all of them for me.

I plan to use that strategy when I ramp up again for my Boston Training in 2010. Of course that adds to the expenses of running.

Unknown said...

Knots are bad! Keep working on yours, hope between the two therapists that it gets worked out!
Love your ADD moments, keep them coming!!! It makes me feel better about my "2 or 3 or 6" that I have everyday!!

elaine said...

magnesium. 100 mg three times a day. Not more than that or you'll get the runs. But it should help with the knots....make sure you get all your other minerals too. Every time E beats you up your muscles will first relax and then tighten again the next day or shortly thereafter. It isn't going to work in the long run. IME.
E

Marlene said...

Hey Jill! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and for the comments. Just became a follower of yours!

Ugh, those knots sounds ANNOYING. I hope they start to get better soon.