Thai Yoga Stretching for Mobility

I am always looking at ways to improve my skill sets as a personal trainer.  As a result, I take regular courses that I believe will help my clients, especially all the athletes I run coach, as well as the people I help manage chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis.  

Last fall I did the first in a series of Thai Yoga Stretching workshops that was aimed at increasing a persons flexibility (see my blog dated Nov 5, 2017).  Today I participated in the second of the Thai Yoga stretching workshop series that was aimed at increasing mobility. 

This workshop was a great refresher on the techniques I learned last fall, but more importantly let me expand on my skill set working further with clients’ major joints (e.g. knees, hips, shoulder, back) and the attached major muscle groups of the glutes, legs, back and arms.   

The elements of Thai Yoga stretching combine deep breathing, accu-pressure, body weight and yoga postures to help release tension in the muscle groups, increase ROM in joints and overall flexibility.  

One of the really enjoyable aspects of these workshops is that as part of the training process participants are teamed up in pairs in order to practice technique.  So half the workshop I end up receiving the Thai Yoga stretches.  I have to admit the deep stretches targeting my psoas (hip flexor), quads and hamstrings were very much needed and beneficial.  After the ‘Assisted Quad’ stretch and ‘Kneeling Leg Arc’ stretch my hip flexor felt much more relaxed that it had been in months, and I believe that it will benefit my run training going forward toward a two big events I have this spring.  

The ‘Forward Fold’ stretch with massage targeted some really tight muscles in my back, especially the lats, erector spinae and QL, which have tightened from all the planks and deadlifts I have been doing all winter to improve my core strength.  There’s no feeling quite like that of a back free of tension, which allows one to move without restriction.  

These stretches are just a few of the many I learned. 

If you are interested in seeing and feeling what Thai Yoga stretches can do to improve your athletic performance, reduce recovery between tough workouts or just improve your overall quality of life, then contact me for a Thai Yoga stretch session.  You’ll be amazed how it will relieve muscle tension, increase ROM, flexibility and mobility.  

Why not feel and perform your best?!

Here are some photos from todays session:

These pictures are of me stretching the hip, adductor and VMO (muscles of the inner thigh and quadriceps) of my partner, Andrea Leplae of Fuzion Fitness.  Thanks to Debra Dumont of Navina Thai Yoga Therapy for taking the pictures at todays training session.  And also thanks for the Can-Fit-Pro Academy for hosting the workshop. 

Chilly Half Marathon 2018

Burlington's Chilly half marathon is a race I've done three years in a row now.  Its a staple event in the Southern Ontario run circuit with several elite athletes, including olympians Reid Coolsat and Krista Duchene all competing.  Personally, I like it as its a fun winter event to run in the off season to help me prepare for my spring marathon.  I like to play around with pacing strategies and see how my endurance training has been coming along this far in the early stages of my marathon training plan.

While lots of running is always part of the plan, getting sick is never part of any athletes plan, but sometimes it happens and there is nothing you can really do about it, except try to tough it out.  Unfortunately this year, I came down with a nasty sinus infection a few days before the event on March 4th.  I was not alone in my misery, several other runners lined up for the port a potty were all complaining of their various symptoms of malaise. 

I had planned to hold a pace of 4:45/km, and for the first 3/4 of the race I was able to do just that.  But I started to struggle with my breathing at about the 16km mark and continued to do so for the last 5km of the race.  My run splits tell the story...

The last few km I was battling a side stitch from the laboured breathing due to the congested sinuses, but I persevered and laid down a strong finishing kick when the finishing line came into sight.

I finished the half marathon in 1:42:56 (pacing 4:53).  My 2018 time was 32 sec off my personal best from last years event when I ran 1:42:24 (pacing 4:51).  Considering I was suffering through a nasty sinus infection, 32 seconds off my PB doesn't seem so bad. 

I always like to take away a positive from every event I do, and I think I performed well all things considering. Holding a strong pace indicates that my marathon training is coming along well and on par for a strong spring marathon on May 6 where I'll be running down another BQ (Boston Qualifier), hopefully in much better health, cold free/sinuses clear!

As always, I came away from this race with another sweet long sleeve fleece tech shirt that is super great for winter running, as well as helping me survive the rather cool temperatures of the gym that I work at (think draughtiest room ever).  Shout out to New Balance for their support for the clothing over the last three years!

Looking forward to coming back to this event next year to lay down a new PB and hoping to finally break that 1:42:00 time that I seem to run so consistently at this event. 

My March Madness - time to start racing again!!!

It’s March already.  Where is 2018 going? This weekend is my first long course run of the year - the New Balance Chilly half-marathon in Burlington, Ontario.  Its my third year in a row running this race. I keep coming back to this event because its a great tune up for my spring marathon, its a fun/fast/flat course, and you get some great swag (e.g warm & comfy NB running tech fleece shirts) and yummy chilli to eat afterwards. 

The week before a race I always have to think about how much running and recovery I should do to be rested and ready to go.  This period is called the taper period, and the amount of time I taper depends on the distance of the event.  For half-marathons (21.1km) I like to taper 7-10 days, whereas for a full marathon (42.2km) I'd taper 4 weeks.  I have to remind myself to reduce my mileage, keep up intensity (in shorter bouts only), ensure I get my rest, and oh yeah, eat well, but not too well...basically: 

On the bright side, I always like to treat myself to a massage to work out any knots and muscle tightness that have built up in the training process, and make sure my IT band is nice and loose by spending some extra time on my foam roller.   This is me putting on my brave face, as I work out the last remaining knots of my IT band.  Grin and bear it girl!  I know I'll run faster if I'm nice and loose.  Tight muscles can reduce range of motion (ROM) and stride length resulting in poorer performance.  Every runner needs a good foam roller. 

Last year I ran 1:42:24. This year I really hope I can break the 1:40:00 barrier.  I’ve been thinking about my race strategy for this year, and comparing it to what I did last year.  On reflection, I started too aggressively, pacing at 4:30min/km. I got caught up in the excitement and tried to hold my 10km race pace, but I paid for it, and hit the wall at the 15km mark, and struggled through the last 6km.  This year, I plan to pace more conservatively at the start, 4:45min/km, be more disciplined and finish stronger.  Let’s see what happens on Sunday.  Wish me luck!