GC58

Hey Running Mums!

Paul here. I slept in this morning ready for my 3am start tomorrow! One more sleep till Gold Coast guys! Can’t wait to catch up with everyone. It’s kind of like Christmas for runners! I know I’ll see a lot of you tomorrow and there are also tons of RMA crew preparing for races later in the year so I wanted to just show you a couple of strategies you can use the day before and the morning of an important run. First thing is to understand that the body isn’t a static structure…It actually changes in tightness and subtly in shape from day to day. One of the things that I like to pick is the little things that can make you tighter and I know one of the rules of muscles I’m always talking to runners about is that if you leave a muscle shortened OR on stretch particularly at night, it won’t like it! They will tighten on you so your sleep position the night before a race is important because you want to wake up fresh and ready to go! If you can, sleep with a pillow between your knees when on your side to support legs and back and cuddle a pillow (or your partner!) to keep your torso neutral. I don’t mind if you bend knees up a bit in this position but don’t crunch up too tight in a foetal position, muscles will shorten on you! If you are a back sleeper, put a pillow under your knees to take hip flexors off stretch and tummy sleepers can tuck a couple of pillows or a body pillow under them to get a quarter turn off stomach.

Wake up fresh then on race day it’s important to get your body ready to go. If you drive to the race or maybe are sleeping in a hotel bed, you might be tight. Best way to normalise and get the body back to ‘factory setting’ is to use movement. So try this one guys, lie on your back and feel the contact between your body and the ground. Feel where you are lifted off through the arch of the back and where are you in contact? Check what you feel like left to right, you might be the same or one side might feel flatter. Then bend a knee up with the foot on the ground and start gently and slowly moving the knee across the body and return it to the upright position. Then just keep going a bit further every time until butt is rotating off, then eventually shoulder, head is turning with the movement. Usually takes three minutes to do one side. Then check your contacts again. Most of you will feel flatter on the side you have moved. This flatter feeling is a longer body that will be more efficient and faster! This is a massive secret of the body that some runners use to lengthen and make sure they are going into the race with the same long straight body every time. RIFREVers don’t leave it up to chance guys! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqlMZq2f1o

Check out the video that goes through it in detail because I would do it today and definitely tomorrow early. If you are down, grab me and I’ll take a group through movement patterns first thing. I’m busting for tomorrow guys! Catch you then. Also a big shout out to the RMA crew around the country who aren’t doing Gold Coast but are preparing for your runs later in the year. Keep pushing guys!

Talk next week,

Paul Trevethan
Physio

RIFREV.com