Running Down the Right Home Remedy

I have had a few "injuries" since I have started my marathon training.  The reason I say "injuries" is a throw back to playing high school football.  Our coach, Jim Sizemore, the high school coaching legend in the Hattiesburg, MS area, would always ask players who went down if they were "injured" with quotation fingers.  He subscribed to the theory that an injury means you cannot get up or continue to perform.  I agree with that.  It's more of getting hurt.  You can keep going if you are just hurt.  This, my friends, is a running INJURY!

I have been both hurt & injured during my training.  My knee was an injury.  I could barely move, not to mention I could've never run on it after I injured it.  My shin, on the other hand, is a hurt.  I have also had a hurt foot, a hurt knee, and several... SEVERAL... hurt muscles!  When you repeated slam 240ish pounds on to your feet on to pavement, you are bound to hurt something!

For my hurts, I have found some, less than officially licensed means to help.  Let me break them down for you.  You may be surprised what you can use, just around the house, to help some of your hurts.

Large Muscle Soreness - for large muscle groups, like the thighs, calves, & glutes, I use a wooden rolling pin.  This allows for broad even pressure to be placed on the muscle to work out the soreness. 

Arches of Feet - for sore arches, I have resorted to placing a golf ball on the shower mat in my bathroom, and rolling my foot across it for a few minutes.  Do be careful with this though, as too much pressure kind of hurts.

Shins & Feet Aches - I have found that a raquetball feels REAL good on my sore shin and on the tops & sides of my feet.  Even on the balls of my feet.  I will rub the raquetball all over the sore areas of my shins & feet and the grip it gets due to it's texture really feels good & helps massage away the pain for awhile.

Muscle Cramps - you all probably already know this one, but bananas ain't just a song by Gwen Steffani!  The potassium in bananas helps prevent muscle cramps.  It's just plain science!

Tight Shin Muscles - there aren't many stretches you can do for tight shin muscles.  One that I did find is to sit in a rolling desk chair and place your foot back behind you.  Now, with the other foot, slowly pull yourself forward, stretching the shin muscle.  This works & really helps.

General Aches & Pains - there is no substitute for vitamin M as most folks in the military refer to it as.  Motrin, or some form of Ibuprofen, is proof that God loves runners!  800mgs of this wonderous concotion soothes the pain & makes life after your first 5 miler much easier!

These are just a few of the tricks I have found to help keep me on the roads, running & abusing my body more.  They really have helped me stay out of the hospital though, and if I can avoid that place, I am super happy!