Some badges and awards you don’t always want to win. One of those I won today while at my first session of PT (physical therapy). While working with the physical therapist she told me that I win the award for tightest hip flexors she has ever seen! Yeah, not exactly the badge you want on your homepage. But let’s rewind.

Last week after almost a month of hip pain and under the guidance of the strength and conditioning coach here at the school I went to the Vermont Orthopaedic Clinic and got checked out. As I have written before we are extremely lucky to have some of the best sports doctors in the country right here in Killington/Rutland, Vermont. I love seeing the doctor because he says it like it is but at the same time knows I don’t want to stop what I am doing. He works with getting you better and stronger not just saying you have to stop. So after an appointment with him I found out I have bilateral (both hips) tendinitis. Not a good thing when I want to run.

So part of the rehab and new plan for working out is I have a simple strength and stretching program to be done each day. (Read add 30 minutes to my training) The other part is going to physical therapy once or twice a week for the next two months or until it gets better. So I found myself today a mile up the road from where I live at iSport. Ironically the physical therapist happens to be one of my old roommates from high school. Small small world this one is! She has recently been working with the US Ski Team and iSport has close ties to the Team as well as many other professional athletes. Not only was I in capable hands, but more importantly I was comforted knowing that my PT is also someone I know.

As we worked for almost an hour and a half loosening up my hips and muscles this is when Brie dubbed me the tightest hip flexors she has ever seen. So now I have a mission, other than to train but to also loosen up my hips and strengthen my gluts. In the last year I have so changed my body composition that it seems to be at an imbalance and it’s time to get everything back together.

The hardest part is not the actual PT, it’s taking it home and integrating it into daily life. Some of the exercises seem simple or easy or sometimes not a big deal. But it’s these simple, easy, not a big deal movements that will make the changes. Still it’s hard to get in the gym before a run and do a thirty minute stretching and mobility workout just to be able to go for a jog or run then to come home and do another fifteen to twenty minutes stretching and recovery. But this is where I am and I do want to rid this pain.

Today I spent about as half time in the gym working on this “homework” as I did on my actual one hour run. It’s ok though winter seems to have returned to Vermont just in time for spring, so a little gym time isn’t terrible. (Over 20 inches on the top of the mountain in the last two days!) So we are off with tons of bridges, one-legged squats and theraband stretches.

Race season is looming and it’s time to kick this pain in the ass, literally!