Work to do even on my days off.

It seems somewhat ironic to have a day off after having just started this training log yesterday. However as I have learned from experience, I am a runner that needs at least one day per week to be free of pounding the pavement. Today is one of those days. In fact, I usually only run five days per week.

Nonetheless, even on days when I'm not striding around the city, there are many essential workouts that need to be done to keep your supporting muscle groups in good working condition. Below are a few which I swear by.

1)Hips. Although it might seem reasonable to think that runners have strong legs and hips, this is simply not the case. In fact, distance runners are notorious for having weak hips. I am no exception. After spending my entire summer last year recovering from a series of ailments related to weak hips (IT band syndrome, sore ankles, etc), my PT recommended that I particularly work on pelvic region. The exercises consist of me laying on my side, weights (2.5 pounds) on my ankles, and raising each leg a total of 30 times.
















2)Ankles. For those who know me and my running history, they know that my left ankle has been the source of many problems over the years. However, through these following 2 exercises, I'm hoping to overcome this relative 'thorn in my side.'
- Drunk flamingo. Stack some text books. Balance on one foot. Close your eyes. And before you know it, you'll look more like someone stumbling out of the bar at 2 in the morning than an aspiring elite athlete. Switch off ankles every 30 seconds until you've balance 90 seconds on each ankle.

















- Ankle pulls. Grab some surgical tubing, wrap it around some sort of post (a bed post in my case) and do 3 sets of 30 repetitions per ankle.

















Follow up this exercises with some crunches and push-ups, and you're finished with an excellent, easy, core workout to help stabilize your running.

I hope you found this helpful!