Foam Roller is Foam with a Capital "FU"

Last year for Christmas, Jody bought me one of those message rollers. This one has three little spiky-covered balls. It looks a bit diabolical but thought it worked pretty well. It was a great toy for sitting in the recliner on Sunday and massaging the calves, quads, and hamstrings while watching football.

Back in April, I bought a new pair of running shoes. During this visit, I told the salesman that I was preparing to run a half marathon (the Door County half). After settling on a pair of shoes that felt pretty good, he asked me if I owned a foam roller. I said I had, but did not own one.

My foam roller.

I had read about foam rollers. Do not let the name be misleading. Although they are "foam" most of them are a hard foam that offers little comfort to the body; however they come highly recommended. I'll be honest, I was always a bit skeptical.

The idea behind the foam roller is that it offers a deep massage to leg and other muscles. It operates under your own weight. You use it be simply rolling an area, such as your calf or hamstring, back and forth over the device.

But there is a catch ... they hurt like !@#%!

After buying the roller, I used it a couple times but the discomfort was not fun. So, it sat on the floor by my weight set, untouched. I would look at it now and then and think about using it, but was never motivated enough to get on the floor and suffer through the discomfort that it brings.

Then I started to see a chiropractor. I initially visited her because my right hip had been causing me some discomfort since Door County and Jody was tired of me talking about it. A about a week after starting my visits, my left leg (from my knee down to my shin) started to bother me. I mentioned this to my chiropractor. She adjusted my knee once but said that it may be my IT Band that was the nemesis. The best way to alleviate this discomfort was by using the foam rolling. Ugh!

Rolling the IT Band.

There are way too many images of using the foam roller with smiles on their faces! These smiles are lies! All lies!

After several foam rolling sessions (usually before I go to bed), I worked on my left IT Band. Maybe it is just coincidence, but the discomfort in my left leg has since disappeared and not returned, even after several long runs and the Madison mini-marathon.

My next "holy @#$^@" moment with the foam roller came after the Madison race. While I felt strong after the run, soon after I stopped, both of my achilles started to both me. They stiffened up and hurt like they have never hurt before. I was a bit worried after Madison because of the level of discomfort.

After the race, before I went to bed that Saturday night, I decided to use the foam roller and give my achilles some extra love and attention. I started by trying to roll my achilles just above my heal. This did not seem to do anything. So I shifted a little higher and focused on the area between my heal and my calf. Holy crap! I could feel the tightness in both legs but it was not a horrible pain.

After rolling my hamstrings, quads, and shoulders, I stood up. To my amazement, my achilles felt so much better. My right achilles was still stiff and sore but my left one felt almost normal again! The next morning, I rolled my achilles again and the building stiffness dissipated.

Long story short, I was a skeptic when it came to the foam roller. I did not like the discomfort it brought to my body. However, after the relief it provided to my achilles and left leg, I'm convinced that foam rolling will be part of my evening routine as Chicago approaches.

Training Update
I continue to lose weight. Over the course of the past two weeks, I have shed about 3 pounds. Also, today (Sunday), I set a new distance PR by running 18 miles.

Jody joined me for the first four miles, which was awesome! Cooler temperatures and some fog allowed me to feel comfortable for most of the run. For the first 13.5 miles I was doing fine, but I drank too much water when I stopped at a fountain to refill and stomach cramps caused me to walk for about a half mile. I was then able to shuffle my feet to the very end. I spent the rest of the day immobile in my recliner. Next week, I run 20 miles!