Archive for December 2009
Two years ago I injured my left shin and took time off running. After coming back, I started to notice pain in my right upper hamstring/butt area. I just thought it was a sore muscle. I was training for a marathon and over the next few months the pain was present even when I was not running, the worst was long drives in the car. I received a few treatments of massage for the problem and it seemed to help. I ran my marathon and quailed for Boston and set a PR. A few weeks later, I ran a half marathon and again ran a PR. But just a few days after my race the pain in my right hamstring was so bad I had to stop running. I called the doctor made an appointment and then called Terrel. I described the problem and he was able to see me. He worked on my hamstring and was able to feel that my muscles in the area were both tight and sore. About a week later, I went to the doctor and he ordered a MRI, my DX was ischial Tuberosity, better known as a parcel torn hamstring. I called Terrel and told him my DX. He said that he wanted to treat me in tandem with the the doctor. So, I saw Terrel twice a week for the next few months and over time my leg started to get better. I had stopped running at this point for a few months.
When I tried to run again and my left hamstring felt better but the pain came back. Terrel told me it would take time to heal but I really didn’t want to wait, I just wanted to run. I listened to Terrel and by the end of the summer my left hamstring was getting better. He did the ART for the semitendinosus, the middle hamstring muscle. I also had a stem cell procedure to help grow back the torn muscle. At this point I was still getting massage and ART but it was now starting to get better faster. The surgery helped but both Terrel’s massage and ART were helping it heal much faster than the doctor was calling for. A month after the surgery I started to run again. I was not taking any medicine. At this point, I was only getting massage and ART. If I missed an appointment, my left hamstring would hurt and I could not run that day.
Over time as we worked on a regular basis in tandem with my running, I was able to see it was Terrel’s work that was really helping me get back to running pain free. I started to run full time again in October of 2009. In December I ran a half marathon PR of 1:20:42. There is no question in my mind of two things. First, the consistent work that Terrel gave me over the months helped me got over this injury much sooner than the doctor said and second, the massages helped me run that half marathon PR. I would have never made it to the start if it was not for his skill. His is no doubt a gifted therapist
Hello!
I am a recent graduate of a D1 Track and Cross Country Program. When I moved to DC this summer, I decided that I wanted to continue with competitive running, so I joined a local team to continue with my training and fintess left over from Track season.
Things were going pretty well, I ran in a couple local 5k’s and did well. But then in early November, right before my first 10k, disaster struck. My right hamstring had been tight on and off all summer, and of course the week of my big race, it became unbearable. (And of course, I ran through the pain for just long enough to make the injury serious. Crap.)
Enter Terrel Hale’s massage program. I knew that my muscles were tight. Squeezing in runs before or after sitting for 8 hours at work is not the best thing for keeping your muscles loose. I always stretch, but not really enough.
In my first massage with Terrel, he focused entirely on my hamstring. Wow! Turns out I have knots in muscles I didn’t even know I had.
The next massage was on my hamstring and IT Band. Again, quite the painful, quite the knotty.
By my third appointment, I was still not back to running normally, so we took a different approach and worked on my Piriformis.
In addition to massage, I’ve been stretching an rolling out before and after my runs, and icing afterward.
I’m still not back to running normally, but I’m working on it. I will keep you updated on my progress!
-Mollie
For more about running, check out my truly fantastic blog! http://eatrunread.blogspot.com/
I had the opportunity and privilege to work with Terrel Hale from Georgetown Sports Massage in 2009. Terrel was instrumental in getting me back into Ironman racing shape after a leg injury in 2008 that had kept me sidelined for much of the past two years. Here’s my story:
Vineman Triathlon 20th Anniversary – August 1, 2009
Finish Time: 9:53:38.3 for 4th Overall
- Swim: 00:57:39.0
- T1: 00:02:18.5
- Bike: 05:13:44.4
- T2: 00:01:27.8
- Run: 03:38:28.6
Link to results: CLICK HERE.
As I headed out of transition at the start of the 26.2-mile run, race announcer Dave Latourette yelled to me: “You’re 24 minutes back on the leader.”
My heart sunk as a surge of disappointment and sadness welled up inside me. This was my 6th time racing in Vineman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) in Santa Rosa, CA, and I had won the race two years ago by taking the lead at the end of the bike leg.
“Why am I doing this?” I asked myself. Trailing so far back from the leader, I contemplated quitting, as I began the run, urged on by my inner gremlins.
Then I remembered what my friend, Brady, told me (along the lines of): “Just give yourself 20-30 minutes to settle into the run before making any judgment.” I compromised with my inner gremlins to run “just one lap” then see how I felt. One lap was 1/3 of the course. Not that far. Just move forward. I could always drop out after that.
At the start of the run, my right leg – the leg that I’ve been troubled by since the Ocala Marathon in early 2009 – immediately tightened and nearly locked up. As I progressed out along the course for the first of three laps, my whole body began to hurt from the pounding on my feet and knees to a headache in my head.
At the end of the first lap, I truly wanted to quit but I was afraid. My fear was that if I quit, quitting would too easily become a habit. As humans, I believe we can rationalize any decisions we make. But, I needed something else more than that fear to keep going.
“Leadership by example.” These words were ingrained into me by the Naval Academy and the Navy. The primary motivation that kept me from quitting was the example I was giving my coaching clients: How can I ask them to do something that I’m not willing to do? I can’t.
With no chance at first after the bike, the competition on Saturday was all within myself.
Although I had irrationally dreamed of a fast time pre-race, I knew in my heart that my body was not ready to do what it did in 2007. I swam an unexpectedly fast swim but watched as my irresponsible dream slowly evaporated on the bike, as I was first 3 minutes then 14 minutes then 24 minutes behind the race favorite at the bike start, halfway point and bike finish.
There is something pure and emotionally raw about completing an Ironman triathlon. Even though I had already completed 25 Ironman distance races, this one was just as real and just as raw as the first. The distance hurts physically – sort of prolonged head battle between negative self-talk and motivating desire.
This race kept me honest. If I want to get faster like I did in 2007, then I need to make the commitment and invest the time to make it happen. Eight weeks of focused training starting June 1 – my “D-Day” for deciding to do the race – was not enough as I discovered. Improving my fitness to a sub-9 hour Ironman performance is possible. I believe it is. I do feel a sense of satisfaction in my race. I faced the fear and uncertainty that was inside me and I prevailed. I also feel a longing – I have gone faster on this course and I have the desire to go faster once again.
The question that I have to answer to myself is whether or not I want to make “faster” happen.
A very big thank you, Terrel, for bringing me back to the place where I can even ask this question – I look forward to even more success in 2010!
Live life richly and boldly!
David
—-
David B. Glover
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine: Fitting Iron Distance Training into Every Day Life
© 2009 David B. Glover
Hi, my name is Ken Earley, and Terrel has been working with me for a year.
When I first came to Terrel, I had been fighting ongoing ITB pain in my right hip. This would flair up during and after long runs, and stretching was having little effect. Terrel was able to work on my ITB after long runs and end the pain quickly and efficiently. By continuing to see him, I am now able to run without any recurrences of the ITB pain. During 2009, I have been able to run 4 marathons, including 2 in one weekend, as well as the JFK 50 Miler without ITB issues.
Terrel is a runner, and knows exactly and instantly what I am describing, the routes I run, and can immediately apply his running experience with his professional experience to keep me on the roads and trails. I look forward to continuing to have Terrel work his magic in 2010, and know he will be able to help keep me running healthy and happy!
Ken Earley
In November of 2008, I was very frustrated with my running. Chronic tightness in my hamstring and gluteal muscles was causing serious disruptions to my training. Terrel came up with a customized strategy to treat my tight muscles. Each session started with deep tissue massage, then Active Isolated Stretching, and ended with Active Release technique. No other massage therapist I have worked with in the DC area utilizes these later 2 techniques. We would meet 1 to 2 times per week, after I had finished a training run, and would repeat this protocol. Over the course of weeks and months, the tightness and inflammation in my hamstrings subsided and I was able to steadily increase my mileage and take on increasingly difficult workouts. Terrel is a runner himself so during the course of our work together we were able to discuss the holistic nature of training ( utilizing recovery techniques such as massage and ice baths, a healthy diet, footwear, and sleep.) After 10 months of work together, I set a 45 second pr in the 10K and my legs felt stellar while doing it. I would recommend Georgetown Sports Massage to any runner who wants to stay injury free and train and race at a higher level.
-Peter , Distance Runner
Washington, DC
Hi, my name is Marianne and I’ve worked with Terrel for 2 years. As a “fun” runner, I’d suffered from lower back pain and tight hamstrings for a while and Terrel initially helped to get me back on the road. Over time our relationship has developed and owing to the demands of my job, which involves many hours on planes, airports and in meetings, Terrel has become more essential to my overall physical health: particularly ensuring that travelling related aches and pains (especially trapezius) are resolved. Recognising that consistency in training and sports therapy is desirable but impractical given my travel, Terrel and I have established a partnership which irons out the kinks and allows me to get back into a routine as soon as possible.
I also practice yin yoga, which works on the deep connective tissues, and believe that together with the regular massage therapy that Terrel delivers I have a holistic health regime which is keeping me running and injury free. Long may it continue!
Hello, my name is Stephanie and just started working with Terrel last week. Terrel asked that I blog our experience together. This is my first time entering anything into a blog or blog format so please forgive me if I have some hiccups.
In terms of background, I do not consider myself a great runner. I have run two 10 mile races in the last three years and honestly feel plagued by annoying injuries in which doctors tell me to stay home and not exercise. My last race was the Army 10 miler in October. During training for that race I stressed my hamstring due in part to weak hips and butt. While in PT, I pursued ART as a way to stretch the hamstring and give me enough relief to run the race. After the race I did not run for two months. I would like to start running again soon and am hoping to incorporate ART into my training.
My first session with Terrel was great. He listened to my needs and had a very holistic approach to helping me deal with the hamstring issue and keep me running. It was refreshing to hear someone speak about the need to stay active and use the blood to help the muscle heal. He warmed up my leg through massage and then did some isolated stretching to my hamstrings. I feel like the stretching may have been a bit too much for me at the time and I am going to ask not to stretch so much on my Saturday session. The ART was what I have experienced before–painful but effective. He showed me how to mimic the stretching at home, however I have not been able to master it as of yet.
I start my training this week for my next run. At the moment, my hamstring is still bothering me. I’m not sure if it is something I will just have to deal with or what. I worry a little that I’m not letting it heal enough. However two full months is a long time, so then I worry that if I do not stay active it will continue to get worse as well. I’m hopeful that through Terrel sessions and advice that I will be able to make my fitness goals and continue running injury free.
