Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Ran an easy 7 miles into Providence this morning. The Packers are getting crushed by the Pats, and Favre has an injury that may end his career. Rodgers is inept. I stopped watching in disgust. Today's Sunday Blog topic: TP Massage Ball review. Runners’ knee in both knees, lower back pain, SI joint pain, plantar fasciitis, and a groin strain had brought my running to a grind (literally) during 2005 and the first half of 2006. After months of not running, and enduring physical therapy, chiropractic, and massage therapy, I was finally back up and running by September of this year. I noticed that deep tissue massage was particularly effective in accelerating healing, but at $65/2-hr session, I could not afford to do it more than once or twice a month. I figured that the TP Massage set would be good investment, since I could use it every day at no cost after the initial purchase. If it holds to even half of the claims of the website and of other peoples' reviews, it would be worth the money by helping keep me injury-free and feeling good during and after runs. Other reviews of this self-massage toolset can be found by Linda Gallo, SNEWS, and active.com. Reviews such as these, plus the product's informative website, convinced me to shell out the $$ to buy it myself and add it to my arsenal of injury-prevention and running maintenance tools. I have been using the massage tools and techniques faithfully every day now for the last 4 weeks. The tools of the “Total Package” include the Ball, the Footballer and Block, and the Quadballer. The Ball is a little bigger than a tennis ball, and the Footballer and Quadballer are dumbbell-like contraptions that you can roll various body parts on. The Baller Block is just a foam block used to get leverage. I’m sure something else could be used if I ever lost the Block. The tools all have a hard core with a unique, patent-pending material that is neither hard nor soft (kind of like a very viscous gel), so it is more comfortable and effective than using things like a rolling pin (too hard) or a tennis ball (no core, can be pushed in). The website claims that the material will mold to the form of a human thumb after 5-7 seconds of direct pressure. It is kind of a dubious claim, but having experienced it myself, I have to say that it is true; it sure feels like a thumb and it sure gets deep into the muscles! The best part is that you can use your own body weight to control the location and amount of pressure, and you can massage a knot/trigger point to the duration and intensity of your heart’s content. Usually a few minutes is sufficient. The ball can be used for virtually any location and muscle group. If you only have $20 to spend, the ball can get it all done with a little effort. I tried replicating the feel of the TP Massage Ball with a softball and a tennis ball and couldn’t do it; the TP Ball is unique and does as advertised. I use it every day primarily for my neck, shoulders, and chest. After a minute or two on each muscle group, much of the tension built up during the day has been released. The neck is especially tender and sensitive to the ball, but it’s amazing how much better it feels afterward. The ball is supposedly effective in treating piriformis syndrome (sciatia). It was actually the reason the ball was invented. I have not used it much on my own piriformis muscles, as they have not given me any trouble. I use the Footballer for my lower calves (soleus) and the outside of my calves and shin area. Rolling the outside of the calves feels especially good after a longer run of pounding the pavement, and helps rejuvenate the achy muscles. The first week of using the Footballer on the calves was painful; it’s amazing how tender the muscles were. But after a week, my muscles were responding well, and instead of hurting while using the product, it just felt like a good massage. I took that as a sign that the product was helping repair muscle damage, and it was actually working. According to their website, the Footballer applied to the calves is the cure for plantar fasciitis, since treating the calves can release tension on the fascia. That falls in line with other things I’ve heard, but my own case of PF was already better before I started using the product, so I can’t give first-hand testimony. I’m a bit skeptical when anyone claims they’ve found a cure-all for PF, since every case is so unique, but I imagine the TP products can help certain cases. I use the Quadballer to roll out my quads and IT bands, and also my lower back and neck. Laying on top of the Quadballer was very painful for the first two weeks on the quads, but my muscles eventually adjusted and knots were released, and like my calves, it simply feels really good now. I was quite impressed with that. It took about three full weeks for me to lay on the Quadballer and roll out my IT band without pain (the IT band is VERY sensitive), but now I can apply my full body weight on the IT band without discomfort and can get a very good massage out of it. Both the quads and IT bands are very important for maintaining healthy knees, and my right knee, which I have had problems with and had been feeling rather weak before, is actually feeling very strong and durable now. I feel that the Quadballer has helped this, particularly in the IT band. The Quadballer will also get VERY deep into the lower back. I massage out my lower back at least once a day by lying on the Quadballer and rolling back-and-forth and side-to-side. I have had no lower back pain AT ALL in the last month, which is great, because that has been a problem for me over the last year and a half. So I’m very pleased with the Quadballer. Aside from injury prevention and maintenance, the TP Massage tools have helped my day-to-day running performance some, particularly in my calves. When I massage out my calves before a run, I feel a bit more bouncy. My runs have been feeling very good, and I have not had any little aches and pains that can get in the way of a good run. All TP products come with a 9-minute instructional DVD, with is only slightly helpful. It is not long enough, nor informative enough. It also comes with a small pamphlet that suffers from the same problem. Between the two, though, and by listening to my muscles, I could figure out most of the best techniques to use the tools. The website is pretty helpful, and contains some good articles diagrams, but you have to filter out all the jargon and marketing ploys. Read through the website and you will see what I mean. A few weeks ago they just released a small book called Ultimate 6 for Runners Guidebook, which is an instructional guide with step-by-step directions a full-color pictures that would be a great resource to maximize the utility of the product. But they are asking $20 for this 17-page book, which sounds like a bit of a rip-off to me. If I could get it for about half that price, I would consider buying it, because I think it would fill in the gaps of my knowledge and help me use the product better. If I end up buying it, I’ll be sure to give a full report on it. The TP products are rather pricey, due to the materials and development behind them (and I’m sure their mark-up is substantial as well). The Ball alone is $25, the “Starter Set” (ball, block and footballer) is $70, and “Total Package” (ball, block, footballer, and quadballer) is $130. All the products come with the DVD and instructional pamphlet. These prices on their website are high, and you can save a bit of money on them by shopping around the internet and running shoe stores. Don’t pay full price for anything. Cost and marketing ploys aside, these are great products and really simulate deep tissue massage (I have been to several massage therapists and can compare the difference). Since buying the “Total Package”, I have stopped going to my massage therapist completely, and have saved money and recouped cost that way, and I feel great! I have had my running buddies try it after Saturday runs, and they are all impressed as well. Anyone who has a history of injuries, or just wants to eliminate muscle knots and aches/pains should consider trying the TP Massage products. The Ball alone can get just above everything done, so it’s the cheapest place to start if you are money-strapped or skeptical, but the Footballer and Quadballer cover a lot more surface area and make the massage for certain muscle groups a lot easier than just using the Ball. Anyone’s experiences or questions regarding TP Massage products are welcome.

Ran to gym, did 30 minutes on elliptical and lifted. Ran on the TOU course on my way home and hit 7:08 and 6:59 on miles 23 and 24, respectively, to give me an idea of my pace. Did a few blocks with the dog afterward.

Rest day. Going to monthly chiropractor maintenance later this evening. Everything feels good this month as it is, which is a first.

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Update on my Sunday blog on TP Massage Ball:

From now until Dec 31 they are offering 20% off on holiday orders placed on their website. Just enter the discount code: HOLIDAYBALLS when making a purchase on their website. This discount will make their web store cheaper than most 3rd-party vendors.

Also, Trigger Point Technologies will be at the Outdoor Retailer Expo in Salt Lake City on Jan 27-30 if you actually want to talk to them and see their product in action. And finally, the friendly folks at the Wasatch Running Center in Sandy, UT are new retailers of Trigger Point products, so stop by there as well to check out the product and get the staff's opinion on it.

Sorry to sound like an advertisement, but I just got the TP newsletter. :-)

Cross-training day. Went to gym and did 40 minutes on elliptical, lifted, and stretched.

Thanksgiving Day, probably my favorite holiday of all, and one of my favorite days to run on. Today was no exception, and I had a great run down the Logan Canyon River Trail to near Guineva Malibu Campground and back. Weather was surprisingly warm at first, but dropped substantially over the duration of the run; but it was nice to wear short sleeves. The run took 1:10:30, and I pushed the pace in a few places, so it was a good overall pace and a nice workout. It's great to get to the 10-mile point in my runs again!

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I've been meditating on Thanksgiving a bit, and here a list of what I'm thankful for:

1) First and foremost, that God loves us unconditionally and gives the gift of grace, and that "...while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).

2) For my wife, who also loves me despite my faults, and who has given me support and companionship through both good times and hard times.

3) My job, that I enjoy it and that it gives my wife and I provision that we can depend on.

4) Being injury free again!! It is so wonderful being able to run again after such a long layoff. I do not take any of it for granted and am happy for each day that I get to pursue my passion.

5) Daring to dream again. During injury I had lost hope of running competitively at times, and was simply focusing on and trying to live a pain-free existance again. Now I have my sights on racing again, and PR's in the future. I have hope that the lessons I've learned and tools I've found will enable me to run competitively for years.

6) Finally, I'm thankful for other runners, not only my running buddies here in Logan, but also all the other bloggers on this site, for your encouragement, accountability, insights, and inspiration. You all rock! Keep it up everyone, and happy Thanksgiving!!

Ran from my work to the gym during the lunch hour. I made a diversion to the paved River Trail on the way and did an out-and-back on the Golden Mile. Splits were 6:15 both ways, so 6:52/mile pace. Felt easy, which I was pleased with. Lifted weights for awhile, then ran back. I was planning on doing elliptical too, but I didn't have any shorts, so I will put that off until tomorrow. I weighed in at 136 today, so minimal Thanksgiving weight gain.

I have to start watching my right knee. Although there is no pain, it feels a little weak and displaying similar symptons to the beginnings of patellofemoral pain syndrome, which I've had twice before. I just ignored the pain in the past, but would like to address it and snuff it out before it begins this time around, if that's indeed what I'm feeling. I did some extra stretching today, and also some leg extensions and press to work on strengthening the quads more. This came around just today, so it may be a result of the longer trail run (with associated downhill stretches) yesterday, but hopefully it will go away just as fast. I'm overly paranoid about injuries now, so it may be nothing, but in anycase at least I know how to recognize and treat it.

Ran modified Gym-to-Gym Loop. Took a diversion to the paved river trail and clocked the Golden Mile splits at 6:06 and 6:08, which converts to around 6:42-6:44/mile pace. So my easy pace is getting a lot faster, which is a good sign for my training. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical in the gym and then stretched and did some core work. Ran home along the TOU course, slow pace. My knee feels okay, but the quad muscle itself is tender, from TP massage the previous night and this morning. 36 miles total this week, 40 planned for next week, as long as my knee feels good. Otherwise, I will back off.