Frozen Redsicle

Icky run today. Was not fun in the least. It was cold, it was windy, and I battled with my Fuel Belt the first half of the run. I finally figured out how best to adjust it, then all I had to deal with was the cold and wind and a constantly drippy nose. :(

As if all that wasn't bad enough, I also came across a poor old man who had fallen out of his wheelchair and into the snow. He was with a younger lady (his daughter?), who was unable to do anything to help. She seemed to have issues herself. I stopped to offer what help I could though how much help a little squirt like myself could give, I'm not sure. I didn't even have a cell phone on me. Fortunately, I had just passed several people who were getting out of a truck and the man said they were on their way to help and he waved me on.

That brings me to my final issue with today's run. One that comes up every time I do a coooold weather run. I want to stretch after my runs. I've learned from experience and the wisdom of others the benefits of post-run stretching in reducing soreness and preventing injury. The problem is, when I finish a cold weather run, all I want to do is jump in the car, turn on the heated seats and heating vents full blast and allow myself to melt! Though I'm usually relatively comfortable during the run, as soon as I stop, I freeze up very quickly. Very, very quickly. Trying to stretch before getting in the car and heading home may very well put me at risk for hypothermia! That may be a little exaggerated, but the constant shivering and extreme discomfort makes it hard to concentrate on stretching. Quite frankly, I'd rather take the risk of a little soreness, tight muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. than put up with cold.

I'm wondering what kind of a time-frame I have post-run where stretching does the most good. It takes about 30 minutes to get home from the park. I definitely feel soreness setting in by the time I step out of the car. Then I need to get out of my damp clothes, shower (for the heat as much as the cleanliness aspect!) and put something warm and dry on. (I know a hot shower is not recommended immediately post-run but remember, I'm frozen!) By then is it too late to stretch? Would it do me any good after so much time has passed?

Stretching and Injuries

Someone recently posted in the Runner's World online community for advice on stretching, and I, of course, had to throw in my two-cents worth. Considering I've only been running one year, two cents may be all it's worth! But it has been working for me so far! Of course, I've never been prone to injury luckily. I've played volleyball since I was 12 and had only two slight injuries (I'm 35 now). I never injured myself in my years of playing basketball. I have learned that running injuries are far different. They are less likely to be trauma and more likely to be from overuse. I did tweek both my achilles last year but they are both back to about 90%. Stretching, taking it easy on hills and speedwork for a while and calf-raises really helped my achilles (since I don't have insurance or the money to see a physician or a PT!).

With that intro, here's what I posted on my thoughts on stretching:

The consensus I have gotten from various trusted sources is the best time to stretch is when your muscles are warm. That means, if stretching before a run, walk or slow jog for about 10ish minutes first, then stop and stretch, then start your training run. After a run, cool down with another 10ish minutes of slow jogging/walking and stretch again.

Armed with that advice, I still only stretch AFTER a run but it has reduced sore muscles CONSIDERABLY and helped a nagging achilles injury (mentioned above) to heal.

Before a shorter distance race (5 or 10K), I'll warm up by running slowly for about 10 minutes pre-race. For the 5K, I might even recruit some fast twitch muscles by throwing in some short bursts of faster running to warm up. (I say "might" because I haven't done a 5K yet (haha!), but that's my plan for when I do!) For longer races, I let the first few miles of the race itself be my warm-up.