Let me preface this by saying I disliked running for much of my life and did it as needed for others—gym class, to be social with my roommate who loved to run 5k races, to impress my boyfriend (now husband) who was a runner, to support a friend doing couch potato to 5k which ultimately led to running my first half. Since then I’ve learne…
Let me preface this by saying I disliked running for much of my life and did it as needed for others—gym class, to be social with my roommate who loved to run 5k races, to impress my boyfriend (now husband) who was a runner, to support a friend doing couch potato to 5k which ultimately led to running my first half. Since then I’ve learned so much about wellness and improved my overall health in pursuit of running goals. While training for half marathons I developed a yoga practice to work through overuse injuries in my hips, glutes, hamstrings. Being able to clear my head on longer runs has enabled me to learn how to meditate and deepen my prayer practice. I’ve developed wellness habits like drinking celery juice every morning which has provided a multitude of benefits for me as a runner and as a woman in my 50’s. The biggest change is that I never wanted to run a marathon (too hard on your body, too much training time, too intimidating), but over the past couple of years the desire to run a marathon has been slowly taking hold in my mind when I’m running and contemplating goals.
Kara, I am also in my 50's and have had to find the proper balance of running and rest. I notice that you struggle with hips, glutes, and hamstrings as well. Is there a particular yoga practice you started following? I do 20-30 minutes of stretching on my hips alone before running. Any advice on best stretches?
I highly recommend Yin yoga which involves holding the pose (or stretch) for 3-5 minutes to gradually let your muscles and fasciae stretch and release. My go to post running yoga stretches are twisted crescent lunge, lizard then downward dog into pigeon (which I stay in for 3 minutes per side).
Let me preface this by saying I disliked running for much of my life and did it as needed for others—gym class, to be social with my roommate who loved to run 5k races, to impress my boyfriend (now husband) who was a runner, to support a friend doing couch potato to 5k which ultimately led to running my first half. Since then I’ve learned so much about wellness and improved my overall health in pursuit of running goals. While training for half marathons I developed a yoga practice to work through overuse injuries in my hips, glutes, hamstrings. Being able to clear my head on longer runs has enabled me to learn how to meditate and deepen my prayer practice. I’ve developed wellness habits like drinking celery juice every morning which has provided a multitude of benefits for me as a runner and as a woman in my 50’s. The biggest change is that I never wanted to run a marathon (too hard on your body, too much training time, too intimidating), but over the past couple of years the desire to run a marathon has been slowly taking hold in my mind when I’m running and contemplating goals.
Kara, I am also in my 50's and have had to find the proper balance of running and rest. I notice that you struggle with hips, glutes, and hamstrings as well. Is there a particular yoga practice you started following? I do 20-30 minutes of stretching on my hips alone before running. Any advice on best stretches?
I highly recommend Yin yoga which involves holding the pose (or stretch) for 3-5 minutes to gradually let your muscles and fasciae stretch and release. My go to post running yoga stretches are twisted crescent lunge, lizard then downward dog into pigeon (which I stay in for 3 minutes per side).