I Am Misaligned (Maybe)

   I am misaligned. And I'm not talking liberal vs. conservative or half-empty vs. half-full or male vs. female or anything like that. No, I think my right hip is way out of whack.

I have this...

   I have occasionally had hip problems in the past but more on my left side. I'd get out of bed in the morning and be greeted by a jolt of pain on the outside of my hip. In the 
 
beginning, it was a reasonably minor type of pain that would fairly quickly disappear after walking around for a bit.
   Eventually, though, it started taking longer and longer to disappear and also became quite a bit more intense. My wife at the time urged me to go see her chiropractor. Those days, though, I was pretty leery of chiropractors so this visit never occurred.

...which could be this...

   Along came my second wife and I was still suffering these bouts of hip pain. What was different was that it had become almost impossible to propel myself forward anymore. I had been given a cane as a joke present a few years earlier for my fiftieth birthday and I now had resorted to actually using it!
   My second wife also had a chiropractor she recommended and at this point I was pretty desperate so we made an appointment.
   I then ended up having my first meeting with Dr. Zeinin Haji. Zeinin is a wonderful woman who runs a chiropractic and holistic wellness clinic here in London. She took some time to explain the concept behind chiropractic and then did an assessment on me.
   She discovered I was way out of whack.
   I then found myself being poked and prodded and stretched and manipulated and jumped on! (Zeinin is a pretty tiny woman and I swear she actually leaves her feet to get some of the adjustments done)
   At the end of all that, I was given advice on stretching, how to walk and sit properly and even how to carry my wallet! My wallet is about six inches thick and I carry it in my back left hip pocket. I spend a fair amount of time driving through work and never even thought about what it might be doing to my body to constantly have this large, leather wad pressing into my left butt cheek. She simply suggested I carry it in my front pocket when driving. Pretty easy fix!
   We then arranged to have me come back two or three times a week for a prescribed period, until my body had had the time it needed to respond to the treatment she was giving it.
   In fairly short order, the hip pain was gone. Now I'm at the point where if I start feeling any little twinges down there I simply go in for an adjustment and I'm right as rain again.

...or it might be this!

   These days, however, the pain is in my other hip. It is also more around to the front and deeper (whatever that means). It seems to pop up periodically when I am engaged in normal, everyday activity. I might step off a curb or get out of my car or be walking up steps when it hits. It feels as though it might be related to slight pivoting movements coupled with shifts in weight-bearing. It also feels as though my groin might be involved.
   Similarly to the left hip, the more I move around, the better it feels. Lately, I've had twinges at the very beginning of runs but after a block or two the pain disappears and I'm able to run normally. Yesterday, this did not happen.
   In an attempt to keep my #RunToCanadaDay streak alive, I headed out for what I thought was likely just a 2K run. I began to run, experiencing the same kind of pain but only more intense than usual. I then decided to walk the 2K but I was unable to even do that. At that point, the streak ended. It was still fairly early in the day and I thought that if it straightened itself out a touch I  might be able to give it a shot later on. This never happened.
   So. I think it's off to see Zeinin again. I am hoping against hope that this pain is also the result of misalignment and can be eradicated with some adjustments. I suppose it could also be just a pulled groin muscle and because I've been attempting to maintain a running streak, it's just never had the opportunity to heal itself. Or, at my age, I suppose I could possibly be looking at some kind of arthritic entanglement and this could just mean a trip to the family doctor.

Whatever it is, hopefully Dr. Zeinin Haji
will be able to fix it!

   What I do know is that I've had this before and it has gone away on its own, with a little rest. My plan is to give it some, have a visit with my chiro, and go from there.
   In the meantime, happy and healthy running to you all! 
  

Downtown 5K Race Recap

Little bit of the little bit of an expo...

   Yesterday, I ran in the Downtown 5K, here in London. The Downtown 5K is the second race in the series of six races sponsored by London Honda, in affiliation with Runners' Choice.
   I was initially a little worried about what the weather might be like as the forecast was calling for rain right about race time but, as luck would have it, the rain did not materialize. The temp was about 8C, pretty overcast so, all in all, a pretty good morning to run.
   The race both started and ended downtown (naturally

Was my race bib a foreshadowing...?

enough) in Victoria Park. It involved about an eight block loop on city streets which we ran twice (there was also a 2.5K category and they ran the loop once). It was kind of cool because they had traffic stopped for us at all the major intersections. As a driver, this would have annoyed the hell out of me but, as a runner this one time, it was sweet!
   As I always do, I lined up for the start of the race at the back of the pack. This somehow or other only seems like the right thing to do---even when I was back in school I always headed to the back of the class when picking out seats for the first time. Anyway, it's a heck of a lot less claustrophobic back there!
   I woke up that morning feeling pretty good and ready to run. The previous couple of days I had substituted walking for running as part of my #RunToCanadaDay streak and this had left me with a little extra energy. The only thing that had me worried was the fact that it had been ages since I had actually run 5K. On top of that, during the streak we are required to run only 2K and I was finding that I was pretty tired after just that, so hard to say what a 5K might do to me!

The start of the Kiddy Trot.

  

The bandshell in Victoria Park.

At any rate, I started the race and was feeling just fine for the first couple of blocks. I very quickly noticed a speedwalker up ahead of me, a tiny elderly lady, dressed in neon, with brightly coloured compression stockings. I thought to myself "how cute", as I prepared to pass her. Well, I had quite a while to prepare as I soon realized that that she was speedwalking at the same rate I was running! I was running at what I thought was a good pace for me at the beginning of a race so that I might have something left at the end but this pace would not allow me to get past this little woman. Slightly against my better judgement, I picked the pace up a notch and was soon even with her. I complimented her on her pace and she thanked me sweetly, as I slowly pulled away.

Crowd at the starting line.

   Further along, I came across another runner who had stopped for a walk break. I passed her and then a little ways up the road, I stopped for my own little walk break. At which point, she passed me. We then started taking turns passing each other as our walk breaks alternated and soon we were joking about it. It was only at the end of the race that we realized we actually knew each other through work connections many years ago! Small world!

My Sweetie, seeing me off.

Nearing the finish line, forcing a smile. Nice
pic by my Sweetie, Doralyn!

   Toward the end of the race, I was feeling pretty whipped. I had ended up taking way more walk breaks than I thought I should really need. By this point, the neon speedwalking lady had actually passed me for the last time and did, in fact, kick my ass at the end of the race. With the finish line way up ahead, I had decided to take one last walk break so that I could at least finish the race running. It was here that she pulled so far ahead of me that there was no catching her. As it turned out, I took that last walk break a little too soon and almost had to stop and walk right in front of everyone at the finish line! Fortunately I was able to tough it out but it wasn't pretty...

The start of the race. Me at the back, yellow shoes, white cap. Up ahead, near
the curb, neon top and coloured stockings----Demon
Speedwalking Lady!!

   Anyway, here are some observations: 
                                                                                                                                  Someday, somewhere, somehow...I need to get a little more serious with the training. I ran this race in a touch over 35 minutes and that just doesn't cut it. Big goal, for me, would be to get that down below 30. (tee hee) (and that "tee hee" might be part of the problem)
                                                                                                                        I thought it would be kind of cool to enter this race series because, at my age (61), I figured I would be near the top of my AG. So, so, SO wrong on that account! The handful of other guys in this AG who run this series are all experienced runners who do 5k in the mid-twenties. Laugh's on me!

  I need to calm down a little before a race. The last race, I couldn't remember how to start my Garmin. This race, I wore a short-sleeve tech shirt over top of a long-sleeve cotton one. Bad form, I realize. WORSE form, however, is that I put the short-sleeve one on backwards....(giggle) (and that "giggle" might just be part of the problem)

Finally!

  
  

My "A-little-too-soon" Trail Run

Generally, this area is dry.

   It was an awesome weekend, weather-wise, here in London, Ontario.
   Once again, the temps were in the mid-teens when I headed out on my run on Sunday.
   I had decided I would try and get a bit of trail work in, which might have been a bit of a mistake. When I say "mistake" I say it only insofar as I knew from recent past experience that the trail through

A little bloodied up in the thigh/ankles area!

Warbler Woods, near where I live, would be very wet. Last spring I had attempted to run this trail and much of my time was spent gingerly tip-toeing around long stretches of slime and muck. Sunday was no different and very soon into my run I knew I had perhaps, indeed, made a mistake.
   Very quickly, I decided I needed to get out of the forest and into the fields which bounded it. I did this but found that there were no real trails to follow and that I would need to make my way through a lot of tall weeds and prickly plants (for the lack of a better word). After the run, my legs were a little the worse for wear---many of the plants I'd tried to tiptoe around had reached out and grabbed me.

This was NOT supposed to be there!

Not right!

   Eventually, I found myself free of the forest and weeds and back out on to pavement. By this time, it was a welcome change and I likely will hold off on the same trail run until things have dried out a little. For goodness' sake, there was still a little snow in there!
   All in all, I ran pretty close to 5K today, although there was a fair amount of time spent trying to find a way through all the wetness. Still, it felt awesome running through the forest on a warm spring day! 

Spring Is Here!

   Yesterday was a glorious day for running!
   The temps were in the mid-teens Celsius, the snow (except for the one narrow strip I found) was all gone and you could

A stretch of sidewalk I ran a couple of
months ago

actually run with just one layer on!


The same stretch of sidewalk yesterday,
but from the opposite direction.

   I headed out for a run with no real firm plans as to how far and where to. The only thing I knew was that I needed to get at least 2K in and keep the #RunToCanadaDay streak alive.
   For the last few days, I have been bothered by an un-diagnosed, periodic pain in the upper leg-hip-groin area. There is occasionally a strong jolt of pain deep down inside, at the front pretty well where those three areas of my body join up. I have to pivot in just the right way for the pain to hit and then, generally, it goes away. The pain will cause me to limp a little for the first half kilometer or so and then just works its way out and I'm fine to run after that. This is what happened yesterday.
   The run yesterday was just fine right up to the 2 and a half kilometer mark and then I made the possible mistake of stopping to take a pic. When I turned around to start running again, the pain returned.

The only little skinny strip
of snow I ran across

   I have a race coming up on Good Friday this week and the fact that I occasionally find myself running in pain is a little distressing. I decided I would just walk the rest of the way home yesterday and not take a chance on aggravating anything. While walking I tried to come up with a strategy for being ready for Friday and keeping the streak alive at the same time. The rules of the streak dictate that 2K must be accomplished every day but a little leeway is given to people who might need to walk it, rather than run. I think I might end up making copious use of that little "loophole" for the coming week, in the hope that I can finish the 5K I need to run on Friday.


Bike Sale anyone?

   Along the way, I ran into all sorts of people who were taking the opportunity to dig into some yardwork and tidy up garages. When I got back from the run/walk, we were in the middle of doing the same thing. Doralyn and the boys were hard at sweeping out the garage, throwing out stuff and re-arranging for the summer.


Doralyn's look of disapproval---
scary, isn't it?

   In the process, Doralyn found a dustpan she'd been missing for months and, surmising from the circumstances in which she found it, figured I was the likely culprit. The stern look of disapproval was hard not to capture, digitally.
   I love this time of year and I think most Canadians do. After one of the most brutal winters ever, it is even doubly sweet! Round about this time last year, I was on the shelf with a medical condition I have sworn never to mention again and was unable to enjoy the Spring weather to its fullest, running-wise. Not this year!

Streak Week!

   Woo-hoo, just finished my first week of the #RunToCanadaDay running streak!
   This 90-day running streak is the brainchild of Crystal Rhyno, founder and fearless leader of the Canuck Running Bloggers. The idea is to run at least two kilometers every day between April 1 (surely she must have been fooling) and July 1, Canada Day (Yay, Canada!)
   Last night (and I was cutting it close), I finished off Day 8 with a 2K run. I have very conveniently found a side street which is exactly half a kilometer away so, in a pinch for 2K, I simply run back and forth twice between my house and that street. Over the eight days, I found myself doing that more than I anticipated simply because of time constraints and the fact that I found myself running at the end of the day a lot. Doing it this way keeps me off the roadways after dark and, therefore, is that much safer (which keeps my wife a little happier, too!)

Please don't look at this lame picture of me streaking....

   I have never run eight days straight in my life! I'm not too sure I've ever run more than three days straight, for that matter. This, then, is uncharted territory for me. It has also led to re-defining a "rest" day---I guess a "rest day" is any day I only run 2K.
   A couple of times I've been out running and couldn't immediately figure out why I was tiring so fast. Then, of course, it hits me. You just ran six days straight!
   The majority of those runs have been the 2K variety, simply because of the timing, the weather and just wanting to keep the streak alive. A couple of those times, I really didn't feel like getting out there and running but did anyway. Today, as an example, I'd be fairly content to sit here on my butt but it's also a beautiful day and I'm talking myself into getting out there.
   Part of the problem, though, is that it's hard to imagine running ninety days in a row without encountering some unforeseeable circumstance which might stop the streak, regardless of my desire to keep it going. I just can't fathom being able to run every single day between now and Canada Day. In the face of a seemingly certain failure down the road, why stay motivated to keep the streak alive now.
   Cuz it would be kinda cool, that's why!