[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/06\/sports-medicine-julie\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/06\/sports-medicine-julie\/","headline":"Georgia Marathon Runner Travels for Sports Performance Training: Julie’s Story","name":"Georgia Marathon Runner Travels for Sports Performance Training: Julie’s Story","description":"\u201cThe fact that Ron let me take photos and video, and then just went beyond by showing me around the facility, meant a lot. He really took his time and didn\u2019t try to rush me out of there. I was grateful for that\u2014and grateful that the routine worked.\u201d \u2013Julie Julie, a 54-year-old marathon runner, is […]","datePublished":"2020-06-08","dateModified":"2020-06-10","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/sports-medicine-regions","name":"Sports Medicine","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/sports-medicine-regions","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/sports-medicine\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/iStock-1125358639.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/iStock-1125358639.jpg","height":328,"width":754},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/06\/sports-medicine-julie\/","about":["Health Topics A-Z","Sports Medicine"],"wordCount":1316,"articleBody":"\u201cThe fact that Ron let me take photos and video, and then just went beyond by showing me around the facility, meant a lot. He really took his time and didn\u2019t try to rush me out of there. I was grateful for that\u2014and grateful that the routine worked.\u201d \u2013JulieJulie, a 54-year-old marathon runner, is an elite member of the Atlanta Track Club Masters Team, completing her marathons in the low threes\u2014that\u2019s nearly three hours flat. After recovering from a hamstring injury that she ran on for about two years, her marathon times were suffering, and Julie was ready to get her times to where they had been prior to injury; she wasn\u2019t ready to accept that she couldn\u2019t bounce back. And she was right; she didn\u2019t have to stop there.Finding Someone to Turn ToA friend of the DeAngelo family, the brother of our very own Ron DeAngelo, MEd, CSCS, Director of Sports Performance, referred Julie to Ron. \u201cHearing me talk about needing an extra push to get back to the runner I was before, Randy said, \u2018Ron has a new program that seems to be helping a lot of runners improve. You should go check it out,\u2019 and that was all it took,\u201d Julie says. She reached out to Ron in July of 2019 and within a matter of days had a flight from Atlanta to Pittsburgh to participate in a Saturday morning session with him.Upon arrival at the UPMC Freddie Fu Sports Medicine Center in Pittsburgh\u2019s South Side neighborhood, Ron assessed Julie\u2019s flexibility and asked her about her current warmup. \u201cI run 10 to 20 miles a day. It\u2019s just what I do,\u201d says Julie. \u201cWhen Ron asked me how I warm up, I couldn\u2019t really say that I do. I just use the first couple of miles to gradually get into pace.\u201d This knowledge helped Ron incorporate the importance of a solid warmup into his instruction, in hopes that Julie could leave the training feeling how helpful a warmup can be.Learning the Game Day Speed RoutineThen, Ron jumped right into teaching Julie his Game Day Speed routine, which is part breath control and part joint preparation. \u201cI thought he was joking me at first,\u201d Julie reflects, \u201cjust because I looked silly laying on the floor with my knees at a 90-degree angle, feet on the wall, ball between my knees, breathing through a balloon, and lifting my pelvis for support. But when he asked me how I was doing, I felt really good. My diaphragm was so open, and I felt like I had a ton of oxygen in my lungs.\u201dWhat Julie describes here is a balloon breathing technique, adapted from the Postural Restoration Institute\u2019s program, which makes up just one part of Ron\u2019s Game Day Speed routine. The other half of the routine consists of several targeted stretches and mobilities to help loosen up and prep the joints. She shares that they worked on her ankles, knees, elbows, and especially her hips. Female runners are prone to tightness in the hips and hip injuries, so hip flexor and hip adductor stretches were especially important to include in Julie\u2019s training. A Keepsake to Carry with HerSince Julie was to return to Atlanta in just a few days, she wanted to be sure she could take this program with her. \u201cThe fact that Ron let me take photos and video, and then just went beyond by showing me around the facility, meant a lot. He really took his time and didn\u2019t try to rush me out of there. I was grateful for that\u2014and grateful that the routine worked,\u201d Julie says. As soon as she completed her first go at the Game Day Speed routine, she took a 1-mile run around the South Side to see if she noticed any difference; \u201cI felt great,\u201d she says.\u201cSince then,\u201d Julie says \u201cI\u2019ve been doing the breathing and stretching religiously every morning before I run, even on race days. I haven\u2019t taken a day off from the routine. It can be a little awkward blowing into a balloon when warming up for a race, but it\u2019s worth it. I\u2019ve seen great results.\u201d Not only does the routine help her feel looser, but she shares that the breathing technique has helped her tremendously in the hot, humid, and hilly region of Georgia in which she lives. Typically running in a group of about 12 women, all younger than her, Julie noticed their heavy breathing as they tackled hills. \u201cMeanwhile, my breathing was relaxed,\u201d Julie says. \u201cThe girls are always interested to hear what I\u2019ve learned about running, but when they saw my race times decreasing, they were particularly interested in learning about Ron\u2019s program. I\u2019ve encouraged them to go visit him to see it firsthand.\u201dImproving with Every StrideJulie mentioned that since she\u2019s been practicing Game Day Speed, she falls into her race pace much sooner; she also spent some time reflecting on what the routine does for her nerves. \u201cWe all get butterflies before a race,\u201d she says, \u201cbut this makes me feel like I have more control over what I\u2019m about to do. I\u2019ve been amazed by how calm I\u2019ve felt.\u201d This calm headspace that is sometimes achieved by running alone has proven important as a great source of energy and stress relief for Julie and many other runners.Reflecting on her running career up to this point, Julie shares that she began to run in middle school as a sprinter; she tried cross country but found it boring because no one was around her (she was out ahead of everyone of course). She participated in one year of competitive running in college but mostly just kept up with running as a hobby. Later on, after having a family, Julie picked up running again and learned from a friend that she could run for charity. In her late 30s, Julie ran her very first marathon for Team In Training, raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Marathoning became a passion as she moved up the team ranks, earned her coaching certification to teach others, and finally began to knock out her own race times qualifying her for membership in the Atlanta Track Club. She\u2019s been running with them now for more than a decade.Coming Back for More\u201cA few months after meeting with Ron and doing his routine, I was back in the low threes,\u201d Julie says. \u201cI grasped a 3:10 in Pennsylvania and then a 3:16 in Alabama where I became the fastest 54-year-old to ever compete in the state. I owe a lot of that to Ron\u2019s program. To be able to bounce back like that at my age, I thought that was pretty good.\u201d Julie shares that Ron kept in touch after her training to check in on those races and recently reached out about a myofascial training he\u2019s begun to teach. She plans to run the Boston Marathon this year, which has been postponed to September, and hopes to return to Pittsburgh at some point in 2020 to work with Ron again. Julie says, \u201cEven today, the progress I see keeps me feeling so motivated to keep going. I can\u2019t wait to see how I feel tomorrow.\u201dAll of us here at UPMC Sports Medicine are inspired every day by incredible athletes like Julie. We wish her nothing but the best in her continuous training and upcoming competitions.While physical therapy services are typically covered by health insurance, sports performance services typically are not. Please consult your health plan if you have questions about your coverage.To schedule an appointment with Sports Performance at UPMC Sports Medicine, please call 1-855-93-SPORT (77678). To learn more, visit UPMCSportsMedicine.com."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2020","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Georgia Marathon Runner Travels for Sports Performance Training: Julie’s Story","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2020\/06\/sports-medicine-julie\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]