And once again, it’s Marathon Monday. I really don’t know where the time is going.
So, this week, I lost another pound and am down around 2 inches across the hips. So whilst the pounds are slow to come off, the inches are a bit speedier. So long as it’s going down and not up, I really don’t mind!
I’ve progressed to a 12km distance, despite my quad tightening in a very uncomfortable way, making the last 2km downright painful. And that’s where this week’s post comes in. I want to introduce you to my friend and tormentor, healer and torturer.
The foam roller.
For anyone not familiar with this cylinder of foamy hell, it’s a physiotherapy tool that can really help you look after your body while training – whether marathon or triathlon, or just plain getting fit.
So, what is a foam roller and how does it work? A foam roller, is exactly what it says – a cylinder made of foam – and there are varying degrees of density and thickness. This is used, to use it’s technical term in self myofascial release – for those of us not in medicine, you roller the muscle, using your own body weight, to release tension, pain or discomfort in the muscle tissue.
In my case, I have two areas of issue in my legs that a foam roller works wonders on, my iliotibial band (known as the IT band, a key cause of runners’ knee) and my quadriceps (quads for short, the big muscle at the front of your thigh). Over longer distance runs, my back (as mentioned last week) also starts to pull and the foam roller works wonders for that too.
As for using it, it’s pretty simple. For your quads, begin by placing the roller in front of your knees on the floor. Lean over the roller and resting your weight on the roller assume a plank position, but with your feet off the floor. Then move your body on the roller. This video from Runners World should help give you an idea and for more, this article should help for other leg muscles.
I bought mine thanks to Amazon, but there are lots out there – my only advice would be to start with something soft, you can always build up to something harder, or something hardcore, like this little beauty.
However, just to warn you ahead of you playing with that roller, it’s going to hurt. It’s going to make you pull faces, wince and swear. But, and it’s a big but it’s going to make you feel so bloody fantastic afterwards, you’re not going to care.
The moment of release, the moment that fascia and muscle tension relaxes and all that soreness disappears, you’re going to love your own personal instrument of torture.