Knee pain? Hip pain? Low back pain while running? Check your ITB.
As I was preparing to go down to the basement to do Plyo with Tony, the ever modest, humble Tony, I recalled something he says during the Plyo workout. “You should see me play hoops after doing this for a couple of months… Unbelievable”. Well, I wondered just what he could have meant by unbelievable and if there was an equivalent level of disbelief that I could test for myself. So I decided that I would go for a jog. Now, those who know me are familiar with my stature and know at first sight that although my body is designed for many things, running is not one of them. The last time I ran with any regularity was after I graduated University and was still playing club rugby for the Oakville Crusaders. That was many many years ago and also many many pounds ago. When I was playing last I weighed about 210lbs. I currently weigh in at about 255lbs, mostly due to a big push during the late ’90s when I gained about 40lbs of muscle over the course of about 2 years while trying to make a living as a personal trainer. Anyway, the point being that running is in my far distant past. I have tried over the last few years since my back surgery to run so that I could drop some weight but my runs were more of a walk with some really fast walking mixed in. I would call it jogging but that would probably be an insult to joggers everywhere. I developed shin splints, my tight hip/ITB tore at my knee joints and the whole experience was awful.
Needless to say, my expectations were low and as the rain lightly fell on my face I started out into the darkness to see if my 3 month affair with Tony had been worth it. With my iPod on and thoughts of Tony berating his minions I forged ahead, expecting the usual sad performance. However, I am happy to report that I completed approximately 2.25 miles only stopping at the 3 major intersections to stretch my ITB. Other than that, I RAN THE WHOLE WAY!!!! Unbelievable doesn’t even cover my feeling after I was done and even though the elusive “runner’s high” was nowhere to be found, I was definitely impressed with myself and can say without any uncertainty that P90X was the ONLY reason I was able to do what I did. I know it may not seem like much, but one man’s 2.25 mile jog is another man’s 350lb bench press.
So colour me tickled, I was very happy with myself. That was, of course, until I tried to get out of bed the next day.
Tony, I hate him, but I love him…