Rist Roller Gets a Thumbs Up!

I’m excited to share a new gadget with you. When I came across the Rist Roller on Twitter, I wanted to try it out. I am always looking for a better, quicker, or easier way to recover from a long run or endurance challenge like the Grand Teton Relay. (More about the relay in a future post.) I have become an advocate for massage therapy and often use gadgets like the TheraCane, the Stick, or a tennis ball to work the kinks out of tight muscles. Rist Roller is another tool in my recovery arsenal.

Things I like about the Rist Roller:

·         Size: I tried the mini firm foam roller. It is small and lightweight measuring 5 ¾” x 1 ½”. It is easy to stash in your purse or gym bag so you can always have it with you.

·         Ease of use: Unlike the Theracane or Stick, Rist Roller is operated with one hand, wrist, or foot making it easy to use while watching a movie, riding in a crowded vehicle, or working at your computer desk.

·         Best for: Rolling out sore quadriceps, heels, arches, calves, and upper back.

·         Try this: Place the Rist Roller vertically between a chair back and your tight trapezius muscles and gently sway upper body from right to left.  It’s easier than using a tennis ball.

Although it is marketed for hands and wrists, the Rist Roller is great for athletes, too. I am please with its convenience and versatility. Rist Roller has found its place in my collection of recovery tools.

Get your Rist Roller by visiting their website.

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Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

Carol - aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Recover by Stretching After a Run

As a beginning runner it is important to recover by stretching after a run. One reason I run is that I am impatient. Running is the quickest way I can think of to get in a good workout. I have learned, however, that if I want to keep running, today and for years to come, I have to settle down and take time to stretch. When I neglect to incorporate stretching into my running and recovery I risk injury and an injury is sure to slow me down!

Among the benefits of stretching are:

•Injury prevention

•Relaxation

•Increased flexibility and balance

•Loosens tight muscles

•Time to reflect

Try some of these stretches and yoga poses from Runners World after your next walk or run or run/walk.

The latest research suggests that stretching should be done AFTER a workout when the muscles are warmed up. So avoid the temptation to flop in a chair immediately after your run. Take some time to cool down and stretch.  You will be less likely to sustain running injuries and your muscles will thank you.
Do you have a recovery tip that helps keep you healthy and on the move? Please share it in the comments below.

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Carol - aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Recover from a Running Injury with RICE

Running injuries are a nuisance and can sideline a runner - sometimes for months. An injury differs from fatigue and soreness. It can usually be linked to an incident like a stumble or sudden onset of pain and should be handled differently than general soreness after a workout. Beginning runners need to be aware that some injuries can be treated with self care, while others may need the assistance of a medical professional. Rest is often the best remedy. It's also one of the hardest for runners. We tend to panic that our fitness level is waning during recovery.

Fortunately, there is a formula for treating injuries at home that will be effective in most cases. RICE is an acronym for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. RICE is an important part of working through running induced injuries. Much of the discomfort from injuries is a result of swelling and inflammation. RICE will help you combat those.

Rest -

If you think you have suffered a running induced injury the first step is to take time off. Difficult? Yes! You were just about to step up your training level by increasing your mileage and now you may have to start all over! Can't you just tough it out? You might - but you might also aggravate the injury and prolong recovery. If you must remain active, find an alternate activity such as swimming or cycling. 

Ice -

Applying cold to an inflamed area will help reduce pain and swelling. Cold compresses, or ice packs, should be applied several times daily for the first 2 -3 days during recovery. For foot and lower leg injuries, soak feet in a bucket of ice water. Zipper bags with water and ice cubes make a quick ice pack, as do packages of frozen vegetables such as peas. Heat can be applied after a couple of days.

Ice treatments can also aid in recovery from fatigue and soreness associated with everyday workouts.

Compression -

Compression can also reduce swelling and support the injured area to prevent further damage. Use caution when applying wraps and Ace bandages as a wrap that is too tight can create additional swelling issues. Click here for wrapping instructions.

Compression socks or sleeves come in an array of colors and styles. They are ready to use and can give support to legs or joints. Just PULL them on.

Kinesio taping is another method of compression and support that works for some. I've had good experience with it, as well as, mediocre results. Be sure to learn how to apply it for the injury you want to treat.

Elevation -

Elevation is another method to reduce swelling. Keeping the affected area above the heart will prevent blood from pooling around the injury. Since you are taking time off, use this opportunity to read a good book, catch up on your social media, or even write your own book! Relax on the sofa and prop your leg (you injured it running, correct?) on a stack of pillows.

Remember, RICE is recommended for treating minor injuries at home. If you don't see improvement in your running injury quickly, seek the help of a medical professional, preferably one that is also a runner who understands your need to get back on the road. The good news is that most running injuries can be cured. You can recover and be on your way.

Do you have a recovery tip that helps keep you healthy and on the move? Please share it in the comments below.

Happy Running!
- Carol aka Running Granny Green
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Recovery Tips for Beginning Runners

Running is going to hurt! It's no secret. That's why you need some good recovery plans. Pain can be the result of a good workout - your body telling you that your efforts were noticed - or it can be the result of an injury. Yes, sometimes runners get injured. There are also times when you need a mental recovery from running.

Identifying the source of your discomfort will help you find the best ways to recover. We will look at ways to use recovery as injury prevention, as well as ways to recover when an injury has occurred. Yes, running is going to hurt, but it's going to be worth it.

How to Recover from Running Fatigue and Soreness

You can expect some discomfort when you begin running. You can also expect some discomfort after you have been running for many months - or years. It's part of the plan. Discomfort, or pain, is not always an emergency alarm indicating you need to stop. Very often, it is a sign that something has changed. You are engaging in a new activity or taking that activity to a new level. You are building muscle and endurance. Although discomfort is normal, there are some things you can do to relieve the nuisance of running pains. Proper cool down after a run or workout, stretching, and even ice and pain relievers can help you stay injury free and logging more miles. An occasional rest day is good for your soul and your soles!

Recover with a Cool Down After a Run

How to Recover from Running Injuries

Injuries can sideline a runner - sometimes for months. Nobody likes to get hurt. Even the most careful runner with great running gear can step in a pothole, over train, or become ill. Following good preventive and recovery practices can help you avoid many injuries. In the event the unthinkable happens there are helps to get you recovered and logging more miles.
Some injuries can be handled with self care, while others may need the assistance of a medical professional. Online resources are available to help you determine when to be patient and when to seek help. Rest is often the best remedy. It's also one of the hardest. Ice packs and athletic tape may become your best running buddies! The good news is that most running injuries can be cured and you can be on your way.

Recover from a Running Injury with RICE

How to Recover from Runners' Mental Fatigue

Runners' Mental Fatigue (I coined this phrase) is different from the voice in your head that says, "I can't believe I have another mile to go!" or "I want to stop - NOW!" Mental Tricks for Beginning Runners suggests ways to deal with those voices. Runners' Mental Fatigue, as I have dubbed it, is the voice that says things like, "I've lost all desire to run. I can't make myself lace up my shoes and step out the door. I haven't run in six weeks and I don't know when I will run again."
When Runners' Mental Fatigue hits, and it may, you can find tools here to help you get over the discouragement, disinterest, or disconnect you are feeling about running. I've said it before, I am a cheerleader at heart and want to encourage you along your fitness path. You can do it!

Whatever your fitness level, you can begin today to improve. If you think you can't run, chances are you are wrong. It may take a little longer (you have to walk before you can run) and it may hurt a little bit (life hurts) but as I like to inscribe my book, The Hard Run: Painful Lessons from a Running Granny, "Life is hard. Keep moving forward!"

Do you have a recovery tip that helps keep you healthy and on the move? Please share it in the comments below.

Happy Running!
- Carol aka Running Granny Green
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Recover with a Cool Down After Running

As a beginning runner it is often tempting to drop into a chair or lay on a cool bed of grass immediately following a run. You've just exhausted yourself and you deserve a rest, right? Wrong! You need a cool down BEFORE you get to rest. I know this from experience. (I tend to dive in and learn as I go.) Here is a little of my story.

When I began running I didn't want to take another step after a run. I still feel this way after a race or endurance event. Unfortunately, when I began running I also found that my calves hurt every single day! I asked my daughter how long before I wasn't sore all the time. Having competed in high school she surmised that as long as I was pushing myself, I would probably always be sore. I think she was trying to avoid saying, "Mom, you're just old and it might always hurt."

I live a little less than a half mile from the local high school track. Someone convinced me to meet them there for a run. I felt a bit silly driving that distance (I drive if I am running late) and decided to walk. This meant I would also need to walk home after the workout. I soon discovered that my legs were no longer as tired and achy the following day.

Latest research does not blame muscle soreness on lactic acid buildup, so I am not going to claim that cooling down reduces the buildup. Rather, a cool down walk seems to relax muscles that have been working hard for several miles - or several hundred meters if you are just beginning. It allows breathing to slow to normal rates and provides time for reflection and positive self talk.

Think for a minute about a stress headache or tension in your shoulder muscles from stress. If left alone there is a great opportunity for soreness the following day. Compare a cool down after your run to a shoulder or neck massage that works to relax those muscles. Relaxed muscles are less likely to become sore. Perhaps I should say, relaxed muscles are likely to become LESS sore. Like I said - running hurts!

A cool down after a run is only one of the many recovery practices that will lessen your fatigue or soreness, but it's one of the most important so take your time and bask in the beauty of accomplishment. Your calves will thank you!

Do you have a recovery tip that helps keep you healthy and on the move? Please share it in the comments below.

More recovery tips will follow. In the meantime ...

Happy Running!
- Carol aka Running Granny Green
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Tuesday's Training Tip: Recover with a hot springs soak

Gold Fork Hot Springs

I love natural hot springs. Perhaps my affinity for them comes from my years growing up in Lava Hot Springs soaking in the soothing hot mineral waters emerging from deep within the ground. There are few things as relaxing as lazing about in hot water – rain or shine.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll note that I chose to squeeze in a quick run early yesterday because I had a full day planned. The full day included a trip to Gold Fork with some of my family members. As we soaked in Gold Fork Hot Springs’ waters there was a combination of rain, sun, wind, and even snow! That’s normal. It’s April in Idaho.

Aside from relaxing, the warm water was therapeutic. My quick short run yesterday included some sprint/speed work. That kind of workout usually results in sore quadriceps (among other large muscles) the following day. I am happy to report that my legs feel great! Although I am embarrassed to admit that my cool down and stretching post run was lacking, my soak in natural hot water made up for it. Oh, that I had a little hot spring of my own in my backyard!

If you are fortunate as I to live in the mountainous northwest, you probably have some favorite soaking spots of your own. They are plentiful, especially in Idaho. Here are just a few of my preferred hot waters:

Lava Hot Springs

Gold Fork Hot Springs

Burgdorff Hot Springs

The next time you are in need of a good soak, visit this hot springs guide at Visit Idaho to find the perfect spot near you!

Happy Running!

Carol - aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

He is in the Details

“Our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives.” – Thomas S. Monson

This was reconfirmed to me recently as I was struggling with a personal obstacle.  I had prepared for many months in many ways to participate in the Grand Teton Relay. It is a team effort and I was the captain. My own physical preparation suffered as I fought a calf injury all summer.  It would improve some and then I would reinjure it. The most recent injury occurred only one week prior to the relay.

To say I was discouraged would be an understatement. I threw myself a pity party for a day!  I then realized that I needed to recover quickly, or in the very least I needed to improve my attitude so that I did not have a negative impact on the experience for my teammates.  Ideally, both of those things could occur.  I approached the problem in this way.

·         I had a good talk with myself about my attitude.

·         I humbled myself and requested a priesthood blessing, which I received on Sunday night.

·         I requested the prayers of friends, which they kindly offered.

·         I rested.  This was difficult because I knew I was not physically prepared for the distance, heat, and elevation.

·         I vowed to take it slowly if I were able to run at all. (This was not difficult due to my lack of training!)

·         I applied ice and heat and compression. I stretched and massaged my calf.

·         I prayed.

Participating was important to me, but I did not feel that it was something that would be important to the rest of the world.  For this reason, I thought perhaps it was not a worthy request to ask my Heavenly Father for a rapid healing – and then I remembered these words from a prophet of God,

 “I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives.”

I pressed forward in faith not knowing if I would be able to run or if I would have to impose upon my teammates to run my 15.5 miles.  By Wednesday I was no longer walking with a limp. When friends asked if I was going to be able to run I answered, “We will see.”  Friday morning I applied kinesio tape AND a compression sock – and I ran.

I ran!  It wasn’t my best performance, but that didn’t matter. What mattered to me was that I was able to participate! There is no way my injury should have improved as quickly as it did. It should have taken a minimum of 2-3 weeks. I asked for help and healing from my Heavenly Father and I received it. It was important to me and He was in the details of my life. I am grateful for that reinforced knowledge and I am grateful for the prayers of friends who also find themselves in the details of my life. Your love and support is noticed and appreciated!

 

Question: When have you noticed the Lord’s hand in your life?

Happy Running!

 

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Guest Blogger: Raquel writes about massage therapy

I’m Raquel Roetto L.M.T. (Licensed Massage Therapist). I have been practicing therapeutic massage since 1997 after graduating from the Myotherapy College of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT. I have an office in my Nampa, ID home and also provide seated chair massage in local businesses (some of which I’ve been in for nearly 15 years). My favorite reason to do massage is to make someone feel better and I do that through therapeutic massage as well as relaxing massage, depending on what you need.  My specialties include Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Reflexology and Pre and Postnatal Massage.

 

Beyond R & R

About 20 years ago as I was trying to decide what to be when I grew up, I was working as a teller at a bank. I got to know some of my customers pretty well as they came in on a regular basis. There was this guy who came in every week or so with a stack of checks to deposit. One day I happened to notice “massage therapy” written on the memo line of one of the checks. That piqued my curiosity because I had been raised in a family that utilized massage. My Grandma Roetto was a massage therapist/reflexologist. My parents would go to her for a “treatment” whenever they had back or muscle pain. I remember as a youth Grandma rubbing my feet and particularly my big toes to relieve headaches, which I had often. I don’t ever remember using the term massage and didn’t realize that it was such a common practice.  My grandma had apprenticed and learned hands-on techniques to help people feel better. She had many faithful clients who came to her regularly, even in her later years. Well you can imagine how excited I was to learn you could go to school to become a massage therapist.  I was enrolled within a few weeks and that began what has been a rewarding career.

In my years as a massage therapist I’ve focused my efforts beyond the standard “R and R.” Although massage is a great way to rest and relax, there are far better R’s to consider.

Recovery: massage allows the body to recover more quickly from vigorous exercise and competitive sports, by increasing circulation and relaxing muscles. Massage is also a necessity while recovering from sports related injuries and heavy training schedules.

Relief: massage offers relief from many ailments including stress, muscle tension, pain, fibromyalgia, sports injuries, sciatica, TMJ, insomnia and many others. Massage is also a great way to treat emotional issues such as depression, anger, anxiety and grief by increasing the “feel good” hormones.

Reduce: massage reduces the intensity of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after activity. It reduces inflammation and keeps joints limber. Massage reduces healing time and will have you back at play sooner. Massage reduces viral and bacterial illnesses by enhancing immune function.

Restore: massage, in a nutshell, is a great way to restore health and well-being both physically and/or emotionally. There are not many treatment plans available that are as beneficial as massage therapy. Many positive changes will be felt with regular 15 minute massages.

The Mayo Clinic’s web page on massage states:

 “Brush aside any thoughts that massage is only a feel-good way to indulge or pamper yourself. To the contrary, massage can be a powerful tool to help you take charge of your health and well-being, whether you have a specific health condition or are just looking for another stress reliever.”

I might add that massage therapy is beneficial for people of all ages from pre-term infants to elderly persons.  While there are some contraindications to massage, most therapy sessions can be customized for anyone.

So, find yourself a therapist that is educated and trained properly and carries the credentials your state requires. Someone that has experience and can provide you with the treatment plan you need. You’ll want someone you are comfortable with and that you can communicate with. Not every massage therapist is created equal and you deserve the best. Go out and get yourself some R & R & R & R and . . .

Raquel

If you are interested in more information or in getting a massage you may contact Raquel at 208.841.4831 or raquelroetto@aol.com.

 Mention this blog post for a $10 discount on your first full-body massage.

 

Visit my Guest Blogger Page to get to know all my blogging friends!

 

Happy Running!