Clyde's Comeback!

Keep on truckin' Clyde. Sorry to hear about the nagging pains. TLC can be a wonderful thing though! Better to do something about it now then to run through it and regret it. Oh and xtraining is a wonderful thing ;P.

Don't worry, you'll be fine. You've got years and years of great running ahead of you, so don't mind the little bump in the road. Think of this as an opportunity to improve on the systems most runners neglect (strength, core, flexibility, etc.). Put the time you usually put into running into these other things.

In addition to the massage and chiro, consider doing a stint of physical therapy. This will help resolve the underlying problem. I've done this a couple times, and it pays off. It's tedious, but sound.

BTW - Is your blog photo for real? Is that the closest you can come to touching your toes? I think I discovered the problem! Dude, I've got arthritis in my spine, and I can get lower than that...

;-)

Clyde do you fine it hard to slow the mileage down even though your body needs it? Do you feel guility if you don't run a certain mileage to maintain your fitness? That's where I'm at. If I feel sore or I know I shouldn't run I still do it anyways because of the fitness. I don't want lose my edge even if it risk getting injured. I've got an addiction problem right now, and need to work it out. What you've mentioned about what your doing has made me think about my situation. Thanks for posting your thoughts. It's good to see you slow down to create a balance and work out your soreness.

Thanks guys!

Paul- Yes that photo is real and that is part of the problem. I'm really unflexible. I mean that's not a PR effort but it's pretty close. So it will be good to work on the other issues... FLEXIBILITY!

What types of activities do you do in PT? How much does it usually run in price?

Kory- Yes running is very compulsive and like Paul said yesterday the blog kind of makes you want to train even though you may need to heal up first. It's hard to pull away from the milage thats brought the majority of success. I'm old school and really struggle to back off but I trust Paul's judgement.

I may not back off all the way... but kind of cut the milage to allow for the healing. Unless I find that I'm not getting better and then I'll go cold turkey until it's time.

Clyde - that's how I used to look touching my toes, but after PT I can can palm the ground if I get warmed up. Despite my improvement, every doctor, PT, LMT, and DC tells me that I'm not flexible enough. I tell them they should have seen me before...

How much PT costs depends on your insurance. That reminds me, you usually need a referral from your GP or ortho doctor. I've gone through 3 separate stints of PT (for my back, for my groin strain, and for my hamstring tendinitis). One cost me about $500, and the others were basically free because I was at my deductible and insurance paid it. So count on at least several hundred dollars. I think IHC here in Logan was about $100/hr. You can probably cut costs by telling them you'll do it at home or in a gym instead of their facilities; really all you need is someone to diagnose your imbalances and weaknesses, devise a plan of attack, and monitor your progress.

Most activities I've done have included ultrasound, massage, taping, heat, stretching, and/or resistance exercises/weights. Probably most of the time is dedicated to weights. But then they expect you do to stuff every day at home, and you can easily spend a good hour a day just stretching and doing theraband stuff. I hate it, but it works.

That sounds pretty good Paul. I have a cousin that is in PT school at Madison, Wi and I'll talk to him and see if he can work on my over the phone or email... I'll try that at first and then see if I need something else.

Stop running so much!

Clyde - We runners are too hard on ourselves. We run a load of mileage and/or a great race and then we immediately ask ourselves "Now what?" instead of looking at back at what we've accomplished and truly feeling good about it. Shoot, I don't run nearly as well as you do, but even I struggle with these things. We all do, some admit it and some don't. I think you are doing the right thing taking it easy on the running and incorporating some x-training until things jump back to full gear. I would just add that doing some strength training for that hammy (try leg curls with a physio ball and windmills) and stretching would definitely be beneficial. And in case you don't believe me, I'm a Mitchum Man.

Is anybody getting together to run tonight? I know Steve is in the process of moving the store, so I'm not sure where people are meeting now.

5:00 at the new store.

Have a good run tonight guys. I've got some things going on and will have to skip this one.

Missed all you guys - Abraham even showed up! It was kind of like a Christmas miracle.