The cool weather finally hit Florida last week. Local races are beginning their competitive season and runners are preparing for their Thanksgiving Day race. I, on the other hand, am treating these couple of months with recovery and balance. I begin my speed training on February 1st for the Chinese race in May. I have not had a few months away from running, training, and speed work for a few years, so it important for my longevity and health to take these short couple of months and recover properly. At www.OneMileRunner.com, we will begin a series of blog articles sharing some of the ways I will be recovering over the next couple of months. I hope you can find some of these methods useful in your training periodization programs.
Finding body balance is crucial before the speed work begins again. With my hips and pelvis being the platform of power, I am going through a series training exercises to increase my range of motion and my overall strength. Our first stop will be at Wellness Concepts (www.wellnessconcepts.com) located in Bradenton, Florida. A friend recommended I meet Dr. Greg Kotlarczyk to see if he could help me find the recovery I was looking for after our world tour this summer. Dr. Kotlarczyk, fondly referred to as “Dr. K,” has been instrumental in bringing my entire body back into balance. With his numerous PNF stretches, neuromuscular massages, and chiropractic adjustments, my body is beginning to hold onto some of the corrections.
As we age and continue our hard training, more and more body work must be done to improve performances, avoid injuries, and optimize efforts. I spend many hours a week doing strength exercises and flexibility exercises, as well as hitting the tables for massage and other rehab work. In our upcoming series, we will show our all our stops on the recovery tour. Please treat this like a buffet – you can choose what you want to add to your plate of overall body balance.