RED January - Day 4 - Forward and Up

Today I got out for a slightly longer run. I had been sitting most of the day so really wanted to move.

Knowing that I had been sitting most of the day I ensured that I warmed up well. I usually do this indoors, I am a wimp in the cold, so that when I go out of the door I can be ready to run.

Recently I have been to see an osteopath, as for many years I have been aware that my pelvis has been twisted. It has never been a problem and using The Alexander Technique has meant that I am able to look after myself well within that. However a while ago I pulled a hamstring and it wasn't getting better so off I went to get some help. And it has certainly untied the twist in my pelvis which is great. However, as it was a longstanding twist it's now taking a while for my body to work in a different way, and for me to be aware so that I don't put the problem back in place again.

So on my run today I was aware of a little niggle at the back of my leg. It was getting better as I warmed up more so I continued. I continued allowing my pelvis to move forward in space so it was connected to my head and my feet and not allowing myself to "break" in the middle which is very common in runners and I can tend to do. 

I then had a thought about gravity and remembered how my whole body can have a kind of spring-like quality to it so that gravity isn't pulling me down into the ground but is allowing me to spring seemingly effortlessly forward and up into my run.

This was great as I suddenly realised that in my attempts to "look after" my injury I had been instead using extra effort to somehow protect it. And instead of protecting it I had in fact been interfering with my running and was therefore not helping my injury at all by pulling myself down into my pelvis.

Suddenly my run became more effortless and enjoyable. The niggle was still there but less so and I could feel that I was working in a more coordinated way. So much better.