What am I doing besides running?

In terms of working out, there's a few other things I'm working on in addition to running.

Usually I workout twice a day - one ~40-minute run in the morning (building a base for marathon-training) and one small workout in the afternoon/evening. During this smaller workout I do my PT exercises, stretching, yoga, and strength-training.

I've talked about yoga before, which is working wonders on my strength, flexibility, and most importantly, my mind. I've also mentioned ab-workouts. However, I'm also trying to strengthen my arms and work on plyometrics. 

To work on my arms, I use hand weights. Typically I do 3 exercises, x10 reps each. I will explain as best I can:

• Extended raise: Hold weights in each hand, arms fully extended at waist. Raise arms straight up so they are a 90-degree angle with your body. Lower back down and repeat.
• Lateral raise: Arms are fully-extended, resting at hips. Raise arms up sideways so that they're parallel with the ground.
• "Push-up": Arms are resting at your shoulders with weights in hands, ready to push up. Push up straight and come back to rest at your shoulders. Repeat.

I also like to work on plyometric exercises when I can. I mostly do them because I think they're fun and different, but studies have shown that plyometrics can help train your body to run more efficiently, which seems like a great benefit. There are some great examples here and here.

My favorite:

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I went to a free injury screening yesterday morning to try to work out some of my nagging issues. I have been to the physical therapy center here many, many times of the past few years at school, and I have always been above impressed with my experiences there. 

I expressed my concerns to the physical therapist and he watched me walk and did some strength tests. He used to sell running shoes, so he checked those out and said that they seem to be a great fit for me, that I have a nice gait. I was happy to hear that I'm mostly fine, but he said that my left side is pretty weak in comparison with my right side, which is definitely a contributing factor to my repeated injuries over the years. This isn't the first time I've heard this but he gave me some specific instructions to fit in with my marathon training (starting in less than 2 weeks). 

The physical therapist said that I "definitely have a runner's frame" and that it might be a little extra hard for me to build up "big muscles" in my hips and glutes because of my frame. When combined with high mileage and longggg distances, I start to experience into problems in the form of injury. I thought this made sense but that it was also a little baffling - professional marathoners are built like me, or have even tinier frames! Meb himself is only ½ an inch taller than I am, and barely 10lbs heavier! So how do those athletes with tiny frames maintain strong enough muscles that they aren't getting injured?!! If anyone knows the answer to this question... please let me know.

These are the exercises that my PT suggested. I also do pistol squats (which are pretty tough!) and clam shells, though he said I can "up the ante" with these and may want to just forget about clam shells all together. All of my other exercises can be found in this video.

Though I run in the mornings, I find myself wanting to get outside again later in the evenings. After dinner, sometimes I ride my bike to the trails and go on a short walk and listen to music. I also like to stop to see how fast the corn is growing (exciting stuff, I know). Looks like I had a friend last night...

Have a great Thursday!