Back on track

Technically, I suppose the title should actually be "on track" since this was my first ever track session! After being in the running club for six months, I finally plucked up the courage to try out the Friday track session at Dulwich College track. Imagine my horror when I got to the track to find hurdles set up! Fortunately, they were from a previous session otherwise I might have cried!

I actually enjoyed the session - a pyramid of 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m. Luckily - especially with the intense heat - the coach went easy on the slower of us and so we stayed at 300m. My brain appears not to engaging my butt still as my hamstrings were pretty sore afterwards.

I'm also enjoying my fab new trainers - well worth the trip to Victoria where the lovely staff did video gait analysis and brought out pair after pair of trainers until they found the perfect fit.

It's official: I have a "lazy butt"!

I wonder if anyone ever goes to a sports physio and gets good feedback on the state of their body?! It seems that new trainers, some manipulation on my back, and daily exercises have started to make a difference to my respective arch, back, and hip-hitching problems. However, my physio has discovered the possible root of my hamstring and hip problems - I have a "lazy butt"! Yes, it seems that my brain is failing to engage my glutes when walking/running leading to an overload on my hamstrings/hips (especially on the right side). The scientist in me demanded to know why isn't my brain doing this? Has my brain had a falling out with my butt that I'm unaware of?! I'm content with the idea of my muscles not doing what they should but not with my brain failing to work properly!

Poor posture seems to be part of the problem. More exercises are the solution including practising walking using my glutes; I now feel like I'm mincing up and down the corridors at work. Hopefully it doesn't look as strange it as feels :-)

Brace yourself: this is going to hurt ...

And it did! I had my first appointment with my new physio last Wednesday and it was well worth the extra money. After a very thorough assessment, it turns out that:
1- I have a collapsed arch in my right foot and use my toes muscles to lift my foot, which is why my shins are sore and I have a "mashed shin" (his words!)
2 - I have a "back like an ironing board" (again not my words!) causing me to run with my pelvis forward and bum sticking out (like a duck, apparently) so that instead of using my glutes, I overload my hamstrings
3- The hip muscle in my right thigh doesn't work properly so my hip pops in and out of the socket and I overuse the muscle on the outer thigh (which is causing the pain in my leg)
4- My feeling of running lopsided is caused by me leaning to one side and "hip hitching" when I lift my left leg.
5- My trainers are completely wrong for my feet (damn Decathlon "gait analysis"!)

The good news? "None of this is life-threatening". Well, I could have worked that one out myself!
The solution: manipulation on my back (still aching from that bone-cracking!), sports massage on my hip (v painful), various stretches and exercises to do at home (to replace the ones given by my first physio), and some new trainers. Oh, and it helped that the physio was rather attractive :-)