State of My Back and Legs

The good news, is I don't have an actual hamstring injury. The bad news is I do have some bursitis, mostly on my left side.

I went to my chiropractor (that I haven't seen in 5 years) mostly because I figured I could use an adjustment and he's pretty good about these things, and then I don't have to go see some specialist and wait a long time.

I have been super conservative about not running for about 4 weeks (except for NothingMan, and I "barely" ran that). So I caught this thing early on. I also figured out I need a new mattress, and I have to get that ordered real soon, but meanwhile can cope by sleeping on the other side of my bed that isn't so worn out.

Yesterday was my first attempt at running since NothingMan. It felt like crap! Like I had no power at all! But I managed to actually run for about 10', do 10' of strides, 5' elliptical and 5' water running. Neither elliptical nor water running cause any issues, so I'm going to make much use of them in the next few weeks.

Today I did some running again. This time, I ran a mile straight (faster than yesterday, YES!!!), then did 10' strides, then went onto the treadmill to finish up. My left glute/hamstring complex wanted to tighten up on me, but I didn't go long enough for that to actually happen. It felt good to run! I iced my left side and then headed to chiropractor.

John did adjust my spine but commented that it's in really good shape. My orders are to stay conservative on the running (I will increase very slowly), ice after running or biking, stretch out that left hamstring gently 3x daily, and put a heel gel pad in my running shoes to temper the impact upon heel strike. I'm going back to seem him in 2 weeks and we will see how I'm progressing. I am also going to hit myself up with the NSAID's for 2 weeks. He explained my system needs to build it up in order for it to be effective, so I'm back on the pills. No worries! I never want to use that stuff for longer than 2 weeks at a time.

I get super committed to any recovery program, especially since this one is to get me back to 100% running, and this ties in nicely with The Hard Routine (see my previous post for my commitments). I did also jump rope for 5' today, and that felt good and has no impact on my bursa. I noticed that my arms have retained a nice shape from all the swimming, and I am adding in extra chinups and triceps dips, so here come my guns again! I just need to get my 6-pack all showing and I will be a happy camper looking good when I hit the beach at Ironman Florida in 6 weeks!

Right now I'm cautiously optimistic about getting my left hip all fixed up, but I think I caught it before it progressed to 4 weeks of no running at all, so we'll see how the next 2 weeks go. Also, I'll just be riding either my MTB or a stationary bike with a nice wide seat. John said that because I have so little fat on my backside (even though I still think I have a decent butt did I just say that?) that my bursa are going to be upset by a regular bicycle seat, but I had already known that and had planned on the cushier seating for the next several weeks.

This weekend, I begin my 2 back to back long runs/hikes, so I will be heading to the big hill at Greene Valley, weather permitting. I'm excited about this! This morning after I finished up on the treadmill, I saw a woman I know on another machine with a high incline holding onto the rails, and today I just decided I'd had enough of that and lectured her on not holding on. I also told her to go outside and go up some real hills. There were some other people on treadmills also hanging on, and they were listening to me intently. I really got into it, but why oh why would you hang on unless you can't stand up without support?

I'll keep everyone posted as to my running progress. I can't WAIT to be running a lot again!