I've followed Kinetic Revolution on Facebook and twitter @KineticRev for a few years now and James' videos have always hit home with me as a lot of them are focusing on calf problems and issues with the tibialis posterior tendons. Having succumbed to tibialis posterior tendinopathy AGAIN, and having shin splints diagnosed after probably years suffering with it, I knew it was time to find out what i was doing when i run that was contributing, or causing, the injuries. It's pointless me rehabbing, trying new shoes, getting stronger in the tendons/muscles, only to carryon running the same way if actually the way i run is the root cause. So, i booked up for a 2 hour 1:1 session with James in Battersea Park Stadium, and on a sunny saturday off i drove up to London. It might seem madness to travel 7 hours return for a 2 hr session, but it was worth every penny, not only for the run analysis (more of that later), but also to discover Battersea Park! I'm thankful i was there on a sunny hot day to witness it in its splendour, but it took me right back to chilling out in Central Park in NYC, a truly beautiful space :)
As it was a hot day and i'm not great in the sun i lathered up in suntan lotion and awaited the start of the session. Unfortunately, the suntan lotion meant that as soon as i started to run i got very sweaty very quickly and when it came to James having to manipulate my legs to see how flexible i was all he got was me literally dripping with sweat, nice impression made there i'm sure! Sorry James!
I think i ran just over 4k in total around the athletics track, with James videoing me to see what my current run form was like both at an easy pace, then doing an 800m paced run, then straight into a recovery 400m. Needless to say this hurt as i haven't ran at pace for a good while since trying to initially build up distance before injury, and now rehabbing back from injury...oopphhff!! However, as soon as James showed me what he had recorded i was taken aback, i could see straight away all the horrible things i was doing when i run, and i don't mean gurning or having my cheeks puff up like hamster cheeks!
Essentially i was causing my tib pos tendinopathy!! My hips were rocking' & rolling, as James kindly put, like i was "on a catwalk"! My shoulders were tilting in the opposite way so my body was all contorted and then when i landed my foot i landed on to outer edge and rolled in, with my left leg actually landing to the right of the centre of my body! No wonder my tib pos was screaming in agony!!!!! I was putting huge stress on it by the way my body was positioned and the way I landed my foot.
James gave me a few adjustments to make, each time getting me to run with the adjustment and then release the adjustment, reverting back to old style, before reverting back again to new style and repeating whilst running continuously to allow me to notice the difference. What a difference i felt! When i ran my usual way i could now feel my bum cheeks rolling with each stride, and with the new technique everything felt so much more secure. James gave me some exercises to stretch my hip flexors out, and also gave me some exercises to strengthen my glutes as they weren't activating when i was running either, contributing to the rockin' and rolling going on! What i also learnt was that i was probably using my quads mostly when squatting, rather than driving up through my heels activating my glutes. I've now made this change on my weighted leg work and can already feel the difference.
During the session the glute work i had to do was agony, because i was so weak there, whereas now that i've been doing the rehab regularly it's fine, not sweat-pouring-inducing as it was on the run analysis day. Needless to saw i was grateful i could shower and change there before the long journey back home!
All in all i came away enthused and motivated, but also really pleased that i now had a solution. If i did the rehab and changed my run form the way James had instructed me then i was in control of being able to run pain free and get back to doing what i love and back to racing!! Whilst it was a long day it was worth every penny, so much so that i've booked to go for a follow-up session which will only be for 1 hr, and i could argue that it's an awful long way to go in one day just for 1hr, but James was so knowledgeable and approachable, and if it means that i continue on the right lines with my new running form, then it will be worth every penny again! Running pain free and without the pain after running is a novel experience. I've been building slowly, starting off with run/walk/run/walk short intervals to allow me to reset technique each time, and i've now built up to 5 miles nonstop with the new technique bedding in. I have to keep refocusing on it when running, but i'm now running 3 times a week again, taking it slowly, easy pace, but getting there :) hopefully when i return at the end of September to see James again he'll be pleased with the progress i have made and i might have some confidence that i can continue to build over the autumn and winter into next year where i can race what races i want without injury :)
If you've been struggling with injuries then don't hesitate, look up Kinetic Revolution on the web, on Facebook, on twitter, and get in touch with them!!
