My legs are trying to kill me

September 11   Plan:  7k steady  Actual:  6k slow

I have a confession to make.

Well, not a confession, per se.  It's not like there's anything really wrong with it.  In fact, it's probably a good thing in the long run.  Of course it is a good thing...

I'm seeing someone.

Yep, I decided it was time to get off my painful butt and see a specialist.  So I'm going to a chiropractor to help with my messed up legs.

Knees have been bugging me for a few weeks now ever since I did those 16k runs and tweaked things.  There have been other pains, too, and since I still have five weeks of training left and the kms are just going to keep going up I decided to take the bull by the horns and shuffle myself off to a professional. 

In the end it was long overdue and I wish I would have done it sooner.  Well, maybe my wallet doesn't, but my legs do.  Once they stop screaming.  Went to my first appointment on Monday and he did an initial assessment where his conclusion was that pretty much everything in my legs is messed up.  Go big or go home, I say!  He thinks it's primarily that my glutes aren't strong enough to sustain what I'm doing so I have some exercises to firm up my ass. 

Good times.

I've seen him twice this past week and I do believe it's helping.  Painful as hell during the session, but helping.  I go back again on Monday and while he'll probably want to see me again in that week I'm going to have to drop down to once weekly sessions - at $48 per half hour, can't really afford two trips a week for the next five weeks, you know?  As much as I'd love to, just ain't happening.

So in the mean time I'm going to do what he tells me to do - ice, roll, exercises, all that stuff - and hope for the best.

I was pretty nervous to get out and do this run, mostly because I'd wrenched my knee when I was picking up speed to catch a subway train that was pulling into the station as I was leaving work.  I had no clue what the run was going to feel like but I needed to try so I did.  Despite my fatigue - it had been a helluva day at work - I had to see how it would feel.

I told myself I'd give it a whirl and see what happens.  I'd do a quick loop every close to home so if something bad happened I'd be close.  If things felt good I also knew that I wasn't going to do the full 7k - I just didn't want to push my luck at that point.  So I laced up my new shoes thinking that part of my issues might be because my shoes are too worn out (at just over 300k) and stepped outside.  Gingerly, because my knee hurt a bit, but out I went anyway.

Much to my very pleasant surprise there was no knee pain.  None.  I was flabbergasted.  And the shoes?  They felt amazing!  It was like a whole new lease on life!  I felt lighter and better supported.  I was able to concentrate more on my gait and focus on trying not to trudge run (I'm bad for that) and found that I could get an extra bit of speed without too much extra effort.  It was all good.

Kept going for 6k then decided that was enough - no need to push my luck.  But was delighted to see that I was 10-30 seconds faster per km than I'd been over the past few runs.  And that, despite how tired and heartburn-y I was on this run.  Yay!

Wore my running shoes to work today as part of casual Friday to give my knees even more support.  I've got 12k on the schedule for tomorrow - likely in the rain, so it would appear - then I'm going to take Sunday off and get more rest.  Rest for my legs and rest for my weary body that hasn't had the opportunity to sleep in in forever.  Can't flipping wait.

Fingers crossed the rain holds off!!!

A quickie tonight

July 31  Plan:4k steady  Actual:  4k easy

I set my alarm for 5am this morning, truly intending to get up early and get my run done before my day started.  We leave on vacation tomorrow and I knew there was lots to be done this evening so it all just made sense.

The alarm went off at 5.  I got up. Went for a pee.  And went right back to bed.  I just couldn't do it.

So after my last day of work before vacation I laced up my shoes and did a slow paced 4k. 

The temperature was lovely, not too much sun, and there was quite a breeze to keep me coolish.  That breeze got gusty a few times but never enough to blow me off course.  I quite literally did an out and back tonight - ran into an adjacent suburb and, once my watch said 2k, I turned around and came home.

Once again and despite not having a second coffee today, heartburn found me and really impacted the last 1.5k of my run. Not sure if you've ever tried to run - or do anything - with heartburn but yeah, it's not fun.  At all.  I was cursing myself and my stupidity for forgetting as I watched my pace slow because I simply had to take more walk breaks.  I chastised myself for not having taken the pill and just under 1k from home I came up with the bright idea to carry pills with me so I could take them en route if necessary.

Then my formerly functioning brain kicked in and reminded me that I had, in fact, done just that.  And that there were two zantacs and two immodium safely tucked in the zippie thing in my fuel belt.

Well sweet fuck. 

But alas, nothing to drink it with.  Smart brain did a facepalm in front of dumb brain and reminded me that yes, I did have something to drink it with.  Water.  You know, in the bottles held by the hydration belt that also held the pills.

Not my best moment.

But in the end I was able to pop the pill in and let it start to work its magic.  Felling much better now.

Shoes and accessories are packed and at 9:05 tomorrow morning we're getting on a plane to Mexico.  Plan is to try to get in three 3-5k treadmill runs during the stay which means no LSD for me this week. I'm okay with that.

Likely won't be able to update the blog while away so see you on the other side!

I almost cheated

July 29  Plan:  5k tempo   Actual:  5k done.  Just barely, but done.

I DID NOT want to run tonight.

NOT

AT

ALL.

I knew I'd have time tonight so instead of getting up stupid early I decided to run after work.  Which I kinda hate.  And boy howdy did I pay for that decision!

Got home from work and it was crazy overcast.  Like, skies about to open up and drench the universe overcast.  So I threw on my clothes and headed out the door as soon as was humanly possible.

5k was on the plan tonight.  Okay, fine.  5k.  No big whoop.  A wee bit longer than the 3 and 4 I've been doing lately but hey, 5k ain't no thing.  I've done it a bunch of times.

Except tonight. Tonight, it was a thing.

First, for whatever reason my lower calves, kinda like where my heels meet my calves, were crazy sore around the 2k mark.  What the what? Never had issues there.  Annoying as hell.  And my knees were a bit twitchy on the outside, too.  Huh.  Maybe I didn't stretch enough after my long run this weekend?  Who knows.  All I DO know is that everything felt tight.  Ugh.

To add insult to injury I forgot to take my zantac when I got home before I headed out.  I get heartburn quite frequently and usually it's very well controlled with a simple wee pill.  One in the morning and I'm generally good to go.  Unless I have a second coffee in the afternoon, then attempt to run.  Yyyyeeeeahh.  One pill pre- run makes everything fine.  Forgetting?  Not so much.  And that's what happened today.   The forgetting.

So there I was, hobbling along the sidewalk, feeling a fiery burn in my throat and, oh yeah, that familiar twinge in my bowels to top it all off.  Good times, I tell ya, good times.  It was a real pleasure to be me earlier this evening.

Thankfully I managed to escape the rain for the most part.  Shortly before the 4.5k mark, when I was actually quite close to home, the drops started. I was in pain, had heartburn, I needed a bathroom, and now I was getting wet.  Never, never ever ever in my life, have I been so close to just packing it in and saying a giant fuck you to the running gods as I was in that moment. 

I could see my house.  Where it's dry, where there are meds and, perhaps most importantly, three toilets - one just inside the front door.  I could SEE it as I rounded the corner.

Just tweak the Nike app, the devil on my shoulder said.  No one has to know.  You work hard, you run hard, it's less than .5 of a km, you barely made it out here tonight to start off with, you should be proud that you made it this far.   Doooooooo it.

And yet I ran on, right past my house and up to the corner so I could turn around, come back and hit my 5k mark.  For realz. 

That was close.  Crazy close.  Had a horrible pace, worst in ages, but I did it.  Those 5k are real, every single step was taken by yours truly.  And hey - I didn't shit myself.   Two thumbs up right there.

Those are the wee victories I'm going to hold on to.  Small though they may be, tonight they feel mighty indeed.