All this Exercise is a Pain in the Neck

...and shoulder, and back.

Therefore, I've gone back to physio.  Physical therapy.

I've been a bit off-kilter for years and all this exercising has just exacerbated the issue.  I've mostly ignored it but little things like swimming to the right, some muscle spasms during long runs, and pain when I yawned finally drove me to get help.  My last PT (and current friend) Jenna recommended one of her esteemed colleagues to work on my perplexing issue.

This lady is named Janis.  Janis is special.  She's Canadian!  But also, she's a physiotherapist AND an occupational therapist.  A PT/OT.

Not really.

The first time I met with her we went over my basic history, which included my racing experience. She tried to pinpoint when I had pain.  We discussed cycling first.

She readjusted her expectations.

We moved on to the topic of running.

Yep.

I talked about how I always swim to the right and have no clue why.  I told her of my grand plans to one day do an Olympic distance triathlon, as well as a full marathon.  And then Janis found the silver lining in our conversation:

Such a good motivator.

She started to have me do things so she could see my body mechanics in action!  At one point she asked me to do a push-up.  I got myself into a solid plank and did a nice, strong push-up.  I came out of it and looked at Janis for feedback.

Oh.  Well, okay.

As I returned for more sessions to work on my "potential", Janis began doing the usual things, like massage, and the not-so-usual things, like mobilizing my spine.

While stretching me out, we've had many discussions about my unevenness.

"Discussion" might be an exaggeration.

One day Janis had me stretch out my left side while pulling on a table leg.

This likely explains the swimming-to-the-right deal.  Anyone else's head tip to the right when you raise your left arm?  I dare you to try.

The newest stretch involves hanging me.  Wait, no, that's right.  Hanging me.

I think it's going well.

Our most recent goal has been my posture.  For starters, Janis told me to sit up straight.  So I did.

So I did.

I'm nothing if not a rule follower.

I might have walked out a little crooked, but I think I've figured out what I'm supposed to do.

Turns out the Athletic Stance was right all along!  I just need to keep finessing it.


UPCOMING POSTS: BLOGGER MEETUPS, TREADMILL RUNS

Linking up with the great writers at Yeah Write again this week!

The Edmonds Half. I Had a Crappy Run.

I cringe every time I think about writing this post.  But, this blog is all about describing my athletic misadventures, so it needs to be done.  Without divulging too many details (I am no SUAR), let's just say that this was my new best friend before the race and for the first 7 miles.

The night before the race, I managed to sleep a solid 5 and a half hours, and woke up feeling good.  I got up and while making breakfast I thought to myself,

As soon as I was about to take my first bite of food, it suddenly hit me that I no longer felt "great".

I delayed leaving for the race as long as possible, then TriGuy and I headed down to the start.

I hit up the first portapotty I saw then met Rachelle from Livin the Fit Life.  We chatted briefly but unfortunately my conversation was less than stellar in an effort to not heave during our first meeting.

I'm so sorry Rachelle.  I'm shy but not usually so incredibly lame.

I made another pit stop right before they played the rousing "Is it Live or is it Memorex?" version of Whitney Houston's Star Spangled Banner, and I then ambled over to the race start.  It was a small group of us (229 to be exact), and there were no timing chips.  Apparently it was a good thing I took TriGuy with me because he once again had to inform me that I was--in fact--racing as people started rushing across the starting line.

What would I ever do without him?

I started the race knowing that a PR was not in the cards, and I was wondering if finishing it would be a possibility.  I ran soooooo slowly.  Seriously.  I was back with the walkers.  And thank goodness for them, because they kept me from being in last place. Selfish, I know.

The first part of the course took us through a tree-lined neighbourhood of mansions.  At Mile 2 I took a quick break for water and other amenities, then headed back out onto the course.  Once I made it to around Mile 5, I came across my cheering squad (TriGuy, Ann Marie, Erika and her daughter)!

Best sign ever.

I chatted with them for a minute and they assured me there were still lots of people behind me.  That would change quickly as I veered off-course to the park to visit more "amenities".  I then began  5 miles of almost exclusive uphill running.  Normally hills would have made me happy, but not that day.

I texted TriGuy around Mile 7 that I was walking.  I tried running a couple of times but my body quickly shut that idea down.  It was so annoying, but I knew that my awesome fans were waiting for me at the top of the next hill.  I then took another 'break', and really thought about a DNF (did not finish).  But since I had less than half the race to go, and only 3 more uphill miles, I decided to keep on truckin'.  Why, you ask?  Because I'm stubborn

I blasted the next mile, then shuffled from one hill to the next, steeper one.  I stopped at each water station for H20 and Gatorade.  Most of the time I was completely alone on the course and had the undivided attention of the volunteers while I savoured my drinks.  I even had a couple of nice little chats.

There were some very steep downhills to lead us back to the finish,  and once again, I passed my cheering squad with about 2 miles to go.  This time, I had a smile on my face because I knew I would finish.  They yelled some encouragement to me, and I soaked it in, oblivious to my peril.

I ran through a crowd of day trippers (the course was clearly not being manned anymore), through some light construction, and haphazardly found my way to the finish line...to a staggering 3 hour finish.

I honestly feel that having my friends cheering me on kept me in the race and I'm so grateful to them for being there!  The one mistake I made was my wardrobe choice.  On the day of my smashing PW (personal worst) by a full 30 minutes, I would say this was the wrong t-shirt to wear.

UPCOMING POSTS:  PT, BLOGGER MEETUP

Hey bloggers, link up at Yeah Write with me this week, and readers go on over for some great posts to read!