"Back" to Running?

Okay so I couldn't help the pun.... more on my "back" and running in a moment...

First, there is a giveaway on a fellow TriMommy's blog: http://www.trimommylife.com/2010/03/who-wants-to-go-to-bora-bora-trimommy.html  I was inspired to enter because 1) who wouldn't want to go to Bora Bora (even if it's just a mental vacation while eating a Bora Bora bar) and 2) I won sunglasses from KC's give away a few weeks ago and it made me think perhaps I could win other contests too and that my winning mojo may not have been eaten up by winning my beloved bike last year.

Second, WELCOME to my new readers!  I'm excited to have gotten over the steady 43 (plus however many lurkers) that held true for a bit, then dropped to 42 for one day and then shot ahead to 44.  I look forward to reading your blogs as well. : )

And now for my back/legs, to answer Big Daddy Diesel's question "Did the chiropractor fix you?"  The answer is yes and no.  They did the nerve machine, then a great water bed machine that put me to sleep, and then the chiropractor. I told the chiropractor that I wasn't having sciatica but that I was getting the pain down my shin, into my arch and he finished my sentence "and into the 1st 3 toes and then they go tingly?"  and I said "How did you know?"  He points to the nerve map on his wall and goes, "because that's the route of your nerve!" Duh. I had only been staring at the thing and tracing that nerve up from my toes a moment before he walked in the room, of course he's know the nerve pathway.  He's the chiropractor.  So, I had a good laugh at myself.

Dr. P. adjusted my neck - crack, snap, pop.  Then my lower back - crack, snap, pop, crack, snap pop, crack, snap pop. Then my middle back, crack, nap, pop, crack, snap, pop.  And I felt like a million bucks - and like a gigantic bowl of Rice Krispies was filled with milk during my adjustment.  He told me that he knew it was pointless to tell me not to run, but that if it hurt not to do it and come back in for another adjustment.  It was off to decompression.  If I won several million dollars, I would pay to get trained to use that machine and then purchase one (after the house for my parents, fully funded college funds for the girls, paying off the house we have now, and a large contribution to various cancer charities).  It pulls on your back to put space between your vertebra again.  Very slowly and based on your weight, etc. I LOVE IT!  I was not in pain after the appointment and felt great, but I didn't try to run either.

Perhaps the 2nd best part of the appointment was seeing M. and J. - two ladies that work in the office.  M. looked at me and said her her sweet latina accent, "You look good.  What have you been doing? You've lost a lot of weight!"  I thanked her but told her that I hadn't lost any. "But, chica, you look marvelous!"  I told her I'd just been doing my triathlon thing and trained and ran a 1/2 marathon.  Then next store for decompression, glorious decompression, and J. tells me, "How much weight have you lost?  You look amazing!  Oh my goodness, you are looking so good!"  We talked about it a little and how I haven't lost weight but gained some and that I just found out I had a thyroid problem.  She told me that I could have told her I lost 20 pounds and she would have believed me that I look so good.  That was well worth the back pain and the frustrating runs just to go in and hear all that!

This morning I woke feeling good and then tried to climb over Ladybug who mysteriously appeared in the bed next to me at some point this morning. And I heard a "click."  Whatever that click was, it was not a happy click.  Pain down my shin, down my left sciatica, and then in my butt.  Grr. Another click later and it felt a little better on my sciatica, but my upper back isn't happy.  So I have another appointment this afternoon before track practice.  I can't say I'm surprised that my back re-shifted... it turned out it had been 6 months since I was in last. 6 months of training on a back that supposedly isn't made for training.

But I'm hopeful.  And that's really all I can ask for.  A little adjustment here and there and then it will be good. And then back to running!  If the chiro doesn't fix me completely, I'll talk to a medical doctor.  I know I avoid that because I don't want to hear the words "You can't run anymore."  I just got to liking it and wanting to keep doing it.  So I really want to avoid those words.  I know people that walk their run in the tri world, and I guess I can do that if I end up being told that I have to, but ugh.  I wanna run!

Of course, Coach has said she's not sure I should go to track practice tonight because (SPOILER ALERT) we're going to do lunges, hills, stair running, etc. and she's not sure my back can take it.  As a mentor, I want to be with the Team, but at the same time I dont' want to be with the Team and not doing the workout and giving disincentive to team members not to do the full workout like they should.  Plus, I don't know what I can do and it might be safer to run 4 miles even pace (like Coach suggested instead) doing 5/1's in my neighborhood than alone in the park in the evening while the others do the workout at the track.  And doing 4 miles round in circles around the track (16 laps) will probably kill me from boredom.  So I'll update you all on what happens...

Until then, Angelfish is finally listening to my advice about marrying at such a young age.  We told the girls that they don't need to think about marrying anyone until after they graduate from college and are at least 21 or 22.  Holland told his Mom yesterday that he and Angelfish already got married, and when she asked Angelfish about it this morning, she said "Silly, we have to wait until we are older to do that!"  Of course, she's very enamored with Holland, but she was also making eyes at Connor this morning when I dropped her off.  Not sure where she got that flirty look from, but my goodness she walked right up to the boy and said "Hi, Connor." and gave him "the eyes" - you know what I'm talking about.  Dear Lord, help me when they're in high school.... oh heck, elementary school, and middle school too... not to mention now.  I was a shy thing until my senior year of high school, and if I liked a boy, I didn't talk to him unless he talked to me first.  No siree.  I'm glad they're confident and as one trained classroom observer noted about Angelfish "she has a strong personality."  But this boy thing, is amazing.  Ladybug has decided that she doesn't know who she'll marry but that she'll figure it out, which I think is the best thing of all.

And at least they've stopped arguing over boys... for now.