I read that a goal should scare you – 50 miles scares me. What also scares me is my right knee.
After each run I know it’s there – which may sound obvious but what I mean is that there is some sort of physical sensation that is causing me to take notice. I wouldn’t label this sensation as pain, but it is there.
It is on the outside of my knee and sometimes on the back. I am making a conscious effort to try to rectify any possible causes – right hips leading to probation.
My fear is not for the 50 mile race per se as I know I have enough time to train – my fear is that my knee will not be able to handle my goal. Or maybe the fear is that I will not be able to rectify any possible cause before I injure my knee and it forces me to take a break from training.
With this said I am stretching multiple times daily, and emphasizing proper running technique.
This seems like the appropriate place to mention my stretching routine specifically for my hip flexors. I start by sitting in a deep squat and just move around in this position – I find it is a nice way get things warmed up before asking my muscles to stretch. I typically move on to the Lizard stretch trying to find a balance between not enough stretch and too much stretch – the goal is to hold each stretch for 2 minutes at least. After the Lizard I shift into the Couch stretch and really focus on maintaining the integrity of my lower back. From here I move into a wide leg forward fold and try to roll my hips outward – I find this is a great hamstring stretch as well as a hip flexor stretch.
Moving on, I have become addicted to the process of running – I actually look forward to the next run. I see it as a step towards accomplishing a goal, and also as an experiment – putting into practice what I have learned.