17 days until the Mayor’s Marathon. . . .

I am very excited for this marathon! Probably the most excited I’ve ever been for a race. Yet, there is a little bit of anxiety because I know it is going to hurt!!

And some of you are probably wondering why I would voluntarily put my body through something so brutal?!?! Well, I’ll just say this: run a marathon yourself (or any race for that matter) and then tell me you don’t want to do it again. The feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration is like no other when crossing the finish line!

(I’m not sure why the quality of this photo is so poor. No, I am not an apparition.)

Today’s run:

Distance: 10 miles

Time: 1:25

I felt much better today compared to yesterday! I didn’t recap my run yesterday, but on Monday I was still quite sore from my 21-mile on Saturday—even though I had taken a complete rest day on Sunday—so I just did an easy 7 mile run on Monday. I wanted to do a track workout, but as soon as I got up Monday morning, I knew that was not happening!

Today was another long, easy run. I enjoyed the pace, the scenery, and the time to think and pray.

Breakfast #2

Tropical Fruit Protein Smoothie

orange juice + 1/2 banana + 1 tablespoon protein powder + frozen fruit (mangos, papayas, pineapple)

I purchased this bag of frozen fruit from Costco, and I love the variety of fruit in it.

I like simple foods after running. Don’t give me complicated foods with a lot of flavor—just keep it simple.

bread ‘n’ butter

My mid-afternoon snack was some trail mix: almonds, peanuts, yogurt covered raisins, and dried cranberries.

This afternoon I had an appointment at Tieszen Chiropractic. (They also do massage therapy and Rolfing.)

I had an appointment to have the Graston Technique performed on my IT (iliotibial) bands.

While I have been fortunate to never have any problems with my IT band, they are very tight! I decided to give this technique a try to help loosen them up and hopefully in turn improve my biomechanics when I run.

This is what the tools for Graston Technique look like. My chiropractor joked they looked like medieval tools.

(Source)

First my IT bands were heated for about 10 minutes. Then the chiropractor rubbed a gel on the area he was going to work so the tools easily slid across my skin.

He then ran the tools along my IT band breaking up any knots or adhesions like the picture below shows.

It didn’t hurt any more than the foam roller does. There were areas where I was more tender than others, but overall there was only a slight level of discomfort.

(Source)

I will be very interested to see how I feel tomorrow. The chiropractor said I might bruise a little, but I am encouraged to keep running and do everything I would normally do.

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Question

Have you ever heard of Graston Technique or know anything about it?