Taking the Long Way Home: Firing up the glutes

Friday, January 31, 2014

Firing up the glutes

Last summer, I started having all kinds of nagging pains. My left big toe hurt, and my podiatrist was at a loss as to the cause. "Maybe you need to take some time off of running".

Uh no. First, I sought out a running coach, who owns a training facility in the town where I live. She was a fast talker, and I heard a lot of things that didn't sit well with the way I like to approach running (remember, running is fun!): drills, stop running for a while, lots of drills. Anything fun about this? I also asked about her background, and as it turns out, she was a sprinter in college. But no professional training as a coach, altho she's coached plenty of people, she said. And while I know very little about all of this, her fees seemed high too.

Hmm. Desperate, I sought out my friend who owns a CrossFit box, with her Ironman husband. She recommended a coach who works at the box and does private training. The trainer, Becky, is also a corrective exercise specialist. "Come and meet with her", my friend said, "see what you think". I met with Becky. For my first session, she had me do squats and other similar exercises while she watched me. She also took some pictures. Becky told me that she would work with me and she wouldn't make me stop running while we worked on my issues. I cancelled my session with the manic running coach. The following week, we began to work on engaging my lazy ass (ok, my glutes) to get them to begin "firing" (add your own comment).

We met weekly over the summer. My scheduled half marathon in September went amazingly well. While I didn't meet my time goal, I ran the strongest race I have ever run. After that success, Becky began my immersion into the world of CrossFit. At first, I was resistant. I'm a runner, not a lifter. But I did some reading, and learned a few important things. One thing that stood out is that after age 50, while runners continue to maintain cardiovascular fitness, but begin to lose muscle mass no matter how much they run. The fix? Weight lifting. The result? A half marathon I ran in Schaumburg, on the spur of the moment? 1:58! I haven't seen the other side of 2 hours in several years. When I run, I feel lighter in my legs. I can feel the backs of my legs driving me forward. Going up hills is so much easier. And then there was this run yesterday, in the blowy, snowy, cold weather: