(Not So) Hard Core

Just 13 months ago I jumped into the Pullman Winter Ultra with options for 1, 2, 3, or 4 loops of a 12.5 kilometer road course. I knew my longest run was only 10 miles, but figured I could gut out at least three loops, maybe four.  Racing through 37.5 kilometers on a rainy, windy January day in lovely Pullman, Washington was tough, but not unbearable. I opted not to complete the last loop, pack it in, and get some food with Milissa who had patiently waited for me to complete my run and be my roadside aid station over the 3 hours and 40 minutes I was running.
Recovering from the race brought about a host of new pains and soreness in my hips than I had ever experienced before -- a welcoming party for training and racing in my 40's. Clearly, this was not something I'd felt so dramatically before, even after marathons, ultras, road races, trail races, or any other feats of abandon.
After going to a physical therapist to treat my hip pain, I struck up a conversation with a physical therapist/runner during one of my sessions. "Why now?" I asked of all my persistent hip pain.
"Well, you're not a kid anymore and you're not the athlete you once were."
Ouch.
"I'm guessing you do a lot of sitting at your job," he continued. "And driving places."
"Uh-huh."
"And you probably don't do as many sports as you used to."
Nope.
"And your transversus abdominus isn't keeping up with your need to stabilize your core when you take a stride while running."
"My what?"
"Your core sucks."
"Oh." And here I thought I was doing OK for 44, but evidently not.
What I had done is called complacency, resting on the idea that I'd always be capable of coordinated sport-like endeavors because I am just naturally an athletic type. Nope.
We went about testing my core, trying to engage my transversus abdominis without contracting my traditional abs. My physical therapist placed two fingers in between my obliques and my abdominals pushing in until he could feel my transversus abdominis -- "Now just contract your core -- not your abs." The verdict wasn't good. I could barely engage it on command.
After weeks of doing "engagement exercises" with my core, my rating, according to the physical therapist was, "Meh," on a scale of "Meh to 10."
"You've got some work to do." And so it began. Before starting my series of back kicks, leg raises, planks, bridges, and the like for my hips, I would seek to engage my deep core first.
And even as I run trails and attack uphills, technical terrain, or prepare for a downhill, I actively engage my transversus abdominis to the extent possible while running.
A year later, I've gradually gained momentum on my core exercises -- moving steadily from basic planks to more active planks, to weighted exercises, to more advanced core exercises with a swiss ball.
Luckily, there are tons of exercises available to keep our core -- hips, lower back, central back, and glutes -- prepared for running. And nothing is more challenging to our support muscles than running on technical mountain terrain. So, I've tried to take a little bit of everything into my regimen.
My Pullman wake up call has served me well. When I don't have time to go to the gym, I do planks or exercises in my office at work. When I do have time, I complete my running workout and finish off at the gym with some advanced planks, bodyweight exercises, or weighted exercises focusing on all four planes -- back, belly, and left/right obliques.
I also work my trouble spots. I still have some trouble with my hip and fight that deficiency by focusing on my single-leg romanian deadlifts -- a few more on my weak side or by doing some weighted kick-backs using a machine at the gym. If you feel like you need some guidance on strengthening your core, hips, glutes, or back muscles. I've found great resources on Competitor.com's website: Strength Training for Runners or on the McMillan Running site McMillan Running Core Routine.
And I've totally recovered from not being as "Hard Core" as I thought.