Last night I headed out to Fast Track Physical Therapy in Falls Church for what I was hoping would be my last PT session. Liz, my physical therapist there, gave me the great news that I have in fact officially “graduated” and am done with PT.

It’s not easy for me to admit injury (main reason things got so bad in the first place!), and it’s even harder for me to stop running, so starting PT and being told I needed to give my body a break was a bit hard to swallow at first. Turns out this whole injury thing might have been one of the best things for me. I’ve become so much more aware of my running form and what muscles need to be working when. Thanks to run analysis my form is getting better and more efficient. I learned the hard way just how important strength training and flexibility are for runners. This seems obvious, but I love to run so much I wasn’t always making time for the other stuff. That’s changed.

Liz did a final video run analysis last night and my form has improved a ton from the first time we did this. I’m still dropping my hip a little bit, but it’s getting better and I’ll keep working on it. My feet are landing in a very neutral position and I’m doing a better job of pulling my legs underneath me. We did a quick run through of my home exercises and stretches that have helped me get so much better over the last few months, and she gave me a few more to add to the arsenal to make sure I don’t end up hurting myself again.

I’m amazed at how much more flexible I’ve become. There’s still work to do, but I always just assumed I wasn’t very flexible and didn’t realize I just needed to put the time and effort in to work on it. It has been so amazing to run pain free these last couple weeks. Seriously, I think it’s been a couple years since running felt like this. Liz and Fast Track are the best! If you live in the NoVa/DC area and need to see a physical therapist – I highly, highly recommend them.

I’ve never been so excited for a race season, and can’t wait to go after some new PRs and a Boston Qualifier!

So excited, I can’t stop smiling!