I've been doing alot of stretching lately. This a requirement when you are doing hard running intervals.
Hamstring Stretch
One of my favorite stretches is the hamstring stretch, with a strap. I just use any belt that I find laying around. The terry cloth strap from my bathrobe works best, as the soft terry fabric makes it easy to grip.
Start in this position:
And, work up to this position:
For a more advanced version, keep your non-stretching leg straight on the ground, so that your two legs form a right angle. That's how I do it.
Now, About that Huge Lump
While holding the strap with one hand, I like to massage the tight spots on the back of my leg with my other hand. Recently, I was doing this self massage thing, and noticed a huge lump on the back of my leg. I thought "What the heck is this huge lump? I never felt that before! Is it from my recent bike crash?". Then, I massaged the back of my other leg to compare. Huh - there's a huge lump back there, too. Then it dawned on me. Those are my hamstrings. Holy crap, they got huge this year.
