Decision Time for Reach the Beach

Sunday, July 22, 2018 · Mike Davis

Good morning,

Earlier this week I officially let my NFLR Reach the Beach (RTB) team know that we would not be participating this year. I struggled with the decision, but ultimately, I knew that my body would not allow for me to train. This is the second consecutive year we will not run the relay and this decision was tougher than last years. I wanted to be healthy and ready to enjoy RTB with my daughter and some great friends, so I held off my decision as long as possible. In the end, my calf would not let me run effectively enough to train.

After emailing the team of my decision, it was apparent that this year would have been a struggle for the majority of our runners and no one was disappointed at my decision. Okay, maybe my good friend Doug was! Hopefully we can all get healthy and enjoy running the rest of 2018 and consider RTB 2019!

This past week I had an appointment with a physical therapist and we discussed multiple structural issues that I have been battling. I have been focusing on the gastrocnemius muscle in my calf, which is the largest muscle that on the backside of our lower leg. After some conversation, she suggested that I also give the smaller soleus muscle some attention. The soleus is located under the gastrocnemius and they both have connection points at the Achilles. (Be sure to check out my blog on Tuesday as I discuss the ankle.) Anyhow, we talked about some stretches and it was pretty clear that I have not been covering all my possibilities. I guess that is why I am a running coach and not a physical therapist!

The doctor and I also had a great conversation about stability and mobility in the frontal plane versus the sagittal plane. As runners we tend to focus on the sagittal plane, which is movement back to front of our body (such as running), whereas frontal plane is more side movement (like a side-plank). Runners may move in the sagittal plane, but because we move single foot to single foot, we need stability and mobility in the frontal plane to help us balance appropriately. Poor balance leads to poor movement, and that is never good. As a running coach, I understand this for our runners, I just need to be better at it for myself!

No RTB for me and my team this year, but I am hopeful next year will bring us back to this great relay!

Have a great Sunday and even better week!

God Bless!

Mike