tips ... by abby

i should've done at least some stretching and a few weights today, but i'm ... not. anyway, i typed up these tips, which you can download here. i was going to post them as a link on the sidebar, but i'm not entirely sure they're all that useful. they are more just observations, i guess, than anything.

i went to the local running store, fleet feet, this afternoon, to talk to them about my right hip. it's a problem i've had before, and – like my left hamstring (pulled, badly, a few years ago) and left ankle (sprained to the point of breaking, also a few years ago) issues – it will probably never go away. damage to soft tissue just really never heals, so all you can do is figure a way around the symptoms. i had been having this issue with my hip as early as a 6 weeks ago, when i was riding my road bike a lot more and running a little less. anyway, it's safe to say it's not the 2-3 extra miles a week that's causing the pain. it's more that my body's off balance with itself. the fleet feet kid put me on the treadmill to watch me run for a little while and decided that it looks basically like i am favoring my right leg slightly due to the hamstring and ankle issues on the left leg, and that's what's causing the discomfort. i left with a yet another pair of shoes that will hopefully keep me from over-pronating on the right side, thus allegedly keeping the ball of my hip in its socket, where it belongs. so we'll see about that. the hip will be fine ... i just want to kill any issues right here and now before i start getting into longer and longer runs.