Run 86, 2009 …on the irrelevance of meeting a moose…

This post does mention a moose somewhere, and there is the word “irrelevance” in there somewhere too, but they have nothing to do with each other. It was just a catchy title. You can stop reading now.

Up at 7:30 AM and out running this morning in -11 C temps to the trails for another 11 km. It was cold but the skies were absolutely crystal clear and the sliver (yes, sliver, not silver) moon just highlighted the amazing sunrise. Oh, and by the way I also saw a moose on the trail, but a few hundred meters away. Then I went to work.

I’m fairly optimistic I can get that pesky knee problem under control with IT band stretching and also with careful post run stretching. So far so good. My flexibility is definitely improving thanks to my cross training. Having had moderate success, as in any endeavor I undertake, I pursue that course of action with fanatical devotion. Actually, it’s not all that fanatical. I just am having more and more success with actually stretching on a daily basis, rather than on an “approximately whenever I feel like it” basis, which is never. Actually, that’s no longer quite true. I am actually beginning to enjoy and look forward to stretching, since it makes me feel, …well, more mobile and younger.

And it’s not because it’s something I’ve miraculously discovered just recently. For years, I’ve known about the importance of proper pre-exercise and post-exercise warm-ups. The warm up and stretching concepts just didn’t apply to me of course since I had no need of those annoying and pesky details (I say this tongue in cheek). Now I know better and much to my surprise I am beginning to find that proper stretching and a proper warm-up and cool down are really helping me. But I seriously think you should dismiss this as trivial and irrelevant.

Just so I don’t put any misleading information out there, here’s a couple of tips regarding stretching, which I recommend you completely ignore:

Stretching before a workout is a good idea only if the stretching is very mild, sort of like a cat stretching after a nap. After a brief warm-up the stretching can be a little more intense, but save the real stretching for after the work out. Stretching cold muscles is always a bad idea. If you are working on improving flexibility and range of motion, always do that specific stretch at least every time you get a chance throughout your day, wherever you are. A minimum of 3 times per day, 9 days a week, is what I recommend. Using your imagination (yes, yours not mine, I haven’t got one), you can find many opportunities to stretch no matter where you are or what your situation is, whether it is hanging off a cliff desperately clinging to save your own miserable hide, or just standing in a supermarket lineup wishing you could punch out that guy with 400 items in a 12 items or less express lane, or that little old lady with verbal diarrhea and a sackful of pennies scattered in more pockets than the universe has black holes. But I digress. Getting back to the point:

It’s important. Do it. Frequently.