Hello and happy Friday! By popular demand — today I’m going to show you how to use a foam roller. But first — let’s talk about yesterday’s run 🙂
I asked Matt if he wanted to join me for a shorter training run yesterday on a fun trail nearby. He agreed — but said he would only come if we went in the late afternoon so it was warm and he didn’t have to wake up early 🙂 Deal!
We met up with my friend Jillian and ran a speedy and very hilly 4 miles! This trail (“Carolina North”) is nice and soft, wide, and hilly, so it’s great for training. I need to come out here more often! Plus, it has fun little arm strength stations.
(Sidenote — I can’t even do ONE pull up anymore. Argh! Last summer I was able to do one after all my LA Boxing workouts — what a bummer I lost it already! Need to ramp up the arm strength training again apparently…)
Anyway! We ran 4 miles in 35:14, for an average pace of 8:47. Not too shabby considering all the hills!
Splits:
- Mile 1: 8:48
- Mile 2: 8:44
- Mile 3: 8:57
- Mile 4: 8:39
And now, by popular demand — let’s talk about foam rollers. 🙂 Here’s a link to the foam roller I own. I love it! For those of you that have no idea what I’m talking about, a foam roller is just a round piece of hard foam that you roll your legs (or butt/hips) over after running to help massage your muscles.
Foam rolling after running (even short ones, but especially after my long training runs!) has REALLY helped with my half marathon training — it helps me to recover more quickly, avoid intense soreness, and avoid injury from muscles getting too tight and stiff.
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to use a foam roller, so by popular demand — I made a little video last night of me using the foam roller after our run. Excuse my soaking wet hair — I always foam roll right after showering 🙂
Heh. Foam rolling on camera is awkward 🙂 I hope you all found the video useful! As I said in the video, I’m by no means an expert, but that’s how I use the foam roller and it’s been working well for me. I usually spend about 30 seconds to 1 minute rolling out each area I describe in the video. I also sometimes foam roll my butt/hips, if they are super sore 🙂
Again, here’s a link to the foam roller I have — it’s only $17 on Amazon and SO worth it. I’d highly recommend buying one if you’re a runner and don’t own one!
Do you use a foam roller? Have you noticed any difference in soreness levels, injury frequency, or recovery time?
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In other news, it’s supposed to be GORGEOUS and warm here today and I have plans to go biking with my friend Jillian after class, so I’m excited 🙂 I’m trying out her extra road bike — she has two and wants to sell one of them, and I’ve been wanting to get a road bike! We’ll see 🙂 Hope it’s nice out where you are today, too!
