I have one of these:
I use it on a semi-regular basis, but not really not as often as I ought to. For those not familiar, it's a tool that you use in a rolling manner to work out tight muscles. Mine is the travel version, pictured above, which is slightly longer than a regular kitchen rolling pin (but much more narrow). It lives near my bed, and like I said, I use it occasionally. If my shins aren't bothering me and my calf doesn't feel that tight, I pretty much ignore it.
Recently, I've been having a flare-up, if you will. Shin pain on the runs following my speed work, and calf tightness pretty much on all my runs. Nothing agonizing, but it's annoying, and I have had to cut one run short due to the pain. I mentioned it to my coach, and she suggested I get a foam roller. I've heard of them before, and I know people who swear by them, so I went online and ordered one.
I was in no way prepared for what arrived at my doorstep. This thing is HUGE!
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| (Ugly feet shown for size reference) |
Once I got over my shock of its sheer size, I went online and googled "How to Foam Roll." (As an aside, I am so glad that it's 2013. How in the hell would I ever get anything done without Google??) After watching a few videos, and emailing with my coach for a bit, I went ahead and tried it out.
Holy Mother Of God. Pain. Pain like... well, like really ouchy freaking pain. Apparently my calf is more of an issue than I thought! I've been assured that with daily rolling, things will get better, but I am in no way looking forward to more of this torture. What I am looking forward to, however, is being able to run issue-free, so I guess I will be continuing to torture myself for the foreseeable future. Fun!
Speaking of torture, I have to go gently encourage my son to get off his duff and get ready for school. Happy Wednesday, all! =)
