Stretch Before AND after?

See the post for Wednesday, below.

Friday, Feb 18, 2011:

Forty minutes, four miles, in the Bubble again. Not so warm inside today - I was comfortable enough in long pants and a long-sleeve shirt. I wore ear cover, anso even the ear didn’t hurt. No pains, an excellent 30-mile week.

Thursday, Feb 17:

Sixty minutes, 6 miles, in the Stillwater Bubble. Warm outside today, and warm in the Bubble too. Usually I run in shorts, but for the first time I ran in short sleeves too. Except for a sore ear, no problems.

Wednesday, Feb 16:

Forty minutes, about 4 miles, in the Stillwater Bubble . After 12 miles the day before, I took it pretty easy. Nevertheless, in just a couple of loops of the soccer field, the left hamstrings started to speak up, as they had in the previous week. I have no doubt that they would have become worse during the run, as they had in the previous week. So I stopped and stretched the hamstrings, just bent forward and touched my toes for 15 seconds or so, then took off again, finishing the four miles with no pain at all. None AT ALL. The stretch actually fixed it, at least for that day.

I’ve always believed in stretching after a run, though I don’t do it often enough. But in recent years the idea of avoiding injury by stretching before the run has been thoroughly pooh-poohed by all those who think they know. A very recent study shows once again that pre-run stretching does not reduce injuries I believed those reports too, but now I think there’s a qualifier. There may be times when stretching a muscle that's already tight might actually prevent that muscle from being torn or pulled during the run. Oh, yeah!

Tuesday, Feb 15:

Two hours, about 12 miles, no pains or problems. I took Clif Shot gels at 40 and 80 minutes, with none of the stomach upset that I’ve had recently when taking gels. The difference? I didn’t have my usual coffee-latte before the run. I needed just one bathroom break to pee, no more.

I checked pace a few times, and I'm sure it was all of 12 miles. No pains! That’s an excellent sign. It’s a masterpiece!

Monday, Feb 14:

Forty minutes, about 4 miles, in the Stillwater Bubble. All OK, no pains.

Salad for dinner, mostly organic, ground bison beneath: