<p>I get an unexpected rest day today, whoo hoo! I planned to run M-F straight, because we planned to go up to our cabin this weekend, and there is no way I’m going to run on snowy logging roads. But now they’re forecasting rain/freezing rain up there for Saturday and Sunday, so we canceled the trip. So I will substitute Saturday for today.</p>
<p>My toes are hurting! My big toenail is purple and both second toes are red and HURT. I’m determined not to let my FEET stop my running, but I hope they get better soon.</p>
<p>Well, teri, great job! And kudos to your trainer for being so flexible with the workout plans. :)</p>
<p>All this talk about soup makes me hungry! I’ve been feeling hungry a lot lately, but when I sit down to eat, I get full after a couple of bites. I think I will make soup for dinner today.</p>
<p>Maine, what happened to your toes? Ouch. I lost a toenail to a bad blister once - it was in the beginning of my marathon training. Somehow, I managed to get my mileage done. Injinji socks were a godsend. Also, there are silicone toe protectors that you can get at a drugstore…</p>
<p>Good job, Teri. I bet the Uggs looked cute! :)</p>
<p>I didn’t go out this morning- this is a tough time of year for me for motivation and the dark mornings. Now it’s sleeting, so it may be another dreadmill evening. I brought indoor and outdoor stuff, so we’ll see.</p>
<p>Do many of us “travel” daily with an extra bag of shoes, socks, sport bras (for the ladies!), leggings, shorts, water bottles, headbands…etc!!? Like a boy scout - always be prepared!</p>
<p>ML, I lost two toenails and it was because my shoes weren’t long enough. This happened when I was starting to run for longer periods. Maybe new shoes? </p>
<p>Teri, I’m glad to know I’m not the only person who still loves their Uggs!</p>
<p>I got into an argument/discussion with my trainer today. She wants me to do a lot of stretching, every day. I have never been flexible. Even when I had an injury and was diligently stretching twice a day, my flexibility did not improve. Then I heard NY Times reporter Gretchen Reynolds talk about stretching in an interview, and I found this article of hers: <a href=“Phys Ed: How Necessary Is Stretching? - The New York Times”>Phys Ed: How Necessary Is Stretching? - The New York Times;
<p>The relevant quote: </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I told my trainer that, after 55 years, I know my body and I know that no amount of stretching is going to make much difference. (I do stretch, BTW, just not every day). She got really insulted and insistent that I was wrong.</p>
<p>I realize there are two issues here – whether stretching is an important component of fitness, and my relationship with my trainer. </p>
<p>I keep my gym bag and yoga mat in my car trunk at all times! It has a full change of clothes and toiletries, plus an extra pair of sneakers and healthy snacks. </p>
<p>I’ve been kind of “off” since the New Year started, though. I feel like I’ve lost my mojo, and it’s starting to show. Not good! I just elliptical’ed and ran, but I haven’t been up for the 2 - 2.5 hour workouts I was doing before the New Year. I signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle 8K (end of March) so I’ve GOT to be able to do a 5 mile run, but I haven’t pushed myself yet.</p>
<p>Hmm…something in their study perturbed me. The fact that they only studied to relation between economy and tightness and drew a conclusion between those two and did not take into account the strength of each individual. And then they went on comparing men and women…eh. </p>
<p>The key of muscle “health” or “wellness” I believe is dependent on both flexibility AND strength. The combination of the two reduces injuries and allows greater comfort in one’s day to day activities. Based on my beliefs, I am an advocate on stretching. It’s best to warm your muscles a bit before stretching. </p>
<p>While my ability to change my flexibility is a bit different I guess because of my age and background, I noticed a LARGE improvement in my flexibility just after a month of doing yoga and pilates. Just after a week or two, it was easier to touch my toes. My back was stretched out a lot more. </p>
<p>I also believe that flexibility is genetic and the flexibility of one when they were of a young age plays a part in their continued flexibility. I have done cheerleading and dance from birth up to high school. I believe tht helped me retain the flexibility I gained early on. </p>
<p>Extreme flexibility is not necessary. No one needs to be able to put their foot on their head and drop into a split; however, one should be able to touch their toes or reach behind their back.</p>
<p>I’m not a big believer in stretching. I do it when I’m injured, but it doesn’t ever help much. I think the firing of the glutes and the strengthening of the core is much more important. That said, it IS good to stretch out a little bit- but it doesn’t have to be a major project.</p>
<p>There seem to be a lot of studies showing that stretching before running is not a good idea. </p>
<p>Niquii, I’ve never been able to touch my toes. Not even close. My trainer is insistent that if I stretch every day I’ll see measurable improvement, and I think she’s wrong. I guess the question is, does it really matter?</p>
<p>I think that “stretching” is probably a little wide of the mark. The current term is “mobility” – the ability to move all joints freely, with a big range of motion, and without restriction. The fifteen minute warmup I do three days a week is intended to loosen up and increase the range of motion of the joints: ankle, hips, shoulders, etc. Some of the things I do involve stretching. For example, the ankle mobility warm up I do stretched my calf muscles. The squat to stand warm-up stretched the hamstrings, etc.</p>
<p>For the most part, these exercises all involve movement, not stretching to an end-point and holding it…</p>
<p>This warmup makes me feel great and I’ve seen improvement over time…</p>
<p>I have really increased my own flexibility from yoga, and I do like what it has done for me. I guess it has to do with what your goals are. I do like being more flexible.</p>
<p>I will give a wishy washy answer on stretching: it depends. </p>
<p>I have seen studies that show that maintaining flexibility is important. (sorry, no cites) But how do you maintain it if you don’t stretch? That is the conundrum for me. </p>
<p>Being extremely flexible is not helpful to me, but being flexible enough to be able to do what I want—say, to sit cross legged, or to land and/or get up from the ground comfortably—is important. I am stretching now to regain some range of motion I have lost, and that lost ROM is having a negative effect on my ability to do what I want.</p>
<p>As far as stretching IMHO every BODY is different and it also depends on the type of running you are doing. I guess I’m skeptical of the recent trend of minimal stretching. I don’t think there has been enough study on this. I still see Olympic athletes utilizing a regimen of stretching.</p>
<p>I spend around a half hour daily on dynamic/static stretching plus foam rolling. Before the stretching, I had chronic calf problems. My new added emphasis on stretching hamstrings, IT band and quads has helped eliminate my arthritic knee problem. </p>
<p>When I was younger, I never stretched . Now that I’m older I think if I’m not religious about it I’m going to get hurt. I’m not as flexible as I used to be. All the world class runners like keflezighi, Rupp, Manzano spend a lot of time on stretching/flexibility with a focus on dynamic stretching. If I wasn’t concentrating on racing / intervals and high speed work I’d probably cut back. Again I think it is your body type, injury history and type of running you do.</p>
<p>Funny I just got a “jack lalane” flashback of doing stretching exercises with my mom. My brothers and I would join her at the start of each show until she kicked us out because invariably we would start fighting with each other! Jack was a rock star back then.</p>
<p>I do a warm up that isn’t stretching per se, but does stretch some muscles. (Lunges for example or waving your arms around in different directions.) Occasionally I think I’d like to have the sort of flexibility I had in high school when I did modern dance, but it’s probably pretty hopeless at this point. This has been a terrible week for exercise, between getting back to work and running around doing errands for my son so he could have the proper clothing for job hunting my time was tight. I’ve done so very minimal workouts - basically about 15 minutes at best.</p>
<p>Would anyone want to comment on this aspect? I know (well, knew, have lost touch with) a woman who was a dancer in college. She still had a lot of flexibility years later as mom of two teenagers and her concern was that her strength did not match her level of flexibility. She felt she had to be careful, for example, when we went ice skating and were trying fun moves just for grins because she could hyperextend and injure herself.</p>
<p>I don’t find that stretching beforehand improves my running, necessarily. I think it improves my overall body, which is a different matter entirely. Does that make sense? In other words, I think the answer depends on whether your goal is running / endurance, flexibility, strength, looking better, staving off disease, impressing the neighbors with a pretzel-like pose, etc.</p>
<p>I find a lot of benefit to myself in the balance exercises that I now do in the context of yoga. I never realized how wobbly I was on one leg / foot, and now I’m much steadier and able to control. (Things like eagle pose, dancer’s pose, etc.)</p>
<p>I can touch my toes no problem, but I can’t reach behind my back. I can’t hook a bra from behind my back, and I can’t do that thing where you put one hand on your back from above and the other from below and try to connect your hands. I have a very strong upper back / shoulders which “carries the load” and thus the muscles right below don’t like to be flexible. I am working on it, but I can only work on so much!</p>
<p>I think balance is more important than stretching. I am a believer in the one leg stands etc to improve balance. I CAN reach behind my back and can do the touching hands thing in one direction- and can get close in the other. Otherwise, I’m not particularly flexible. I CAN touch my toes standing and sitting. I can’t drop my head to my knees either standing or sitting, though (straight legs) like they do in yoga.</p>