Catching Up

   So have you ever started reading a blog post and the writer of the post starts off by saying something like "I'M BACK!!" because it'd been awhile since he or she had posted anything? And did you ever feel slightly guilty because you never noticed they'd gone anywhere.....?
   Well....I'M BACK!!
   I know, you're thinking to yourself didn't he just post something yesterday?
   And the answer to that is yes I did (thank you again, Lori Benetau) but it was one of those posts that kind of dropped into my lap right out of the blue and thank God it did because I've had zilch to write about for the last two weeks or so. Almost no running whatsoever.
   The last post I wrote in anger was to moan and whine about my leg and pain issues. I believe I also stated I was off to see my chiropractor, Zeinin, in the hopes that she might be able to offer some relief.
   I did manage to get in to see her the day after that post. She did the usual adjustment and then began paying more attention to my right upper hip/groin area.
   She very quickly found the source of the pain and kneaded the area mercilessly. To maintain some balance, she also did the same on the left side but it was her work on the right side which had me squirming just a touch. It was one of those "hurts so good" types of situations.
   Afterwards, I did feel better. Not a hundred per cent but better, which was what I was hoping. Zeinin also showed me a lunge stretch which she recommended for the groin area. This stretch has now become part of the pre-run routine.


Heading off, into the woods.

   I kind of laid low for the rest of that week but by the weekend I was feeling quite a bit better and had the urge to run so I headed out, with no real plan.
   It had been awhile since I had hit the local trails so that's where I headed. It was still pretty damp in Warbler Woods but still quite a bit better than the last time I'd been in there so no need to change my usual course.
   I ended up doing 5K with a combination of trail and street running and walked about a quarter of it. No regrets around walking in the slightest---it just felt good to be out there, propelling myself forward!

Leaves, suspended over the trail.

   It was great running through the woods again! It's always different this early in the spring, the new leaves haven't popped out yet and you can see much deeper into the forest than normal, which is kinda cool. Unless you're being chased by the cops, or somethin'.

Where I had been...

   I did have to dart by two or three people walking in the woods but, for the most part, had them to myself. I did run into a little mud but it was pretty easily side-stepped. I was wearing my older Nikes and was not nearly as worried about the mud as I would have been if I'd been wearing the new Asics!


...and where I was headed.

   After the woods, it was out onto the city sidewalks in my neighbourhood. As always this time of year, it was so refreshing to run past all the homeowners who were out getting their yards prepped for summer. That was SUCH a long winter!
   The rest of the run was pretty uneventful and, afterwards, there was very little of the groin pain I'd been experiencing. That was LAST weekend on the Saturday and the next day was bright and warm and sunny here in London so I decided to get some yard work done.
   We have issues with our backyard. A few years ago we decided to "de-construct" the two lower tiers. Our backyard slopes away from the house in three separate tiers and the two lower tiers were landscaped when we bought the house in '08 but then we decided we wanted to do something different so we took out all the bushes and railway ties. Unfortunately, our plans to "re-construct" it have consistently met with roadblocks, mainly financial ones.
   This summer, however, I am bound and determined to do something about that situation! So I took advantage of the beautiful weather to get out there and clear out some of the underbrush, rake up all the pine needles (a couple of towering pines at the back of our yard), and trim some branches.
  

Back yard on the right...

I ended up with about fifteen bags of yard waste to set out by the curb. Because most of the greenery was still somewhat damp, the bags weighed appreciably more than they might have otherwise. Not only that, they then needed to be carried up the three tiers and out to curb.
   At the time, I knew I was tired but no big deal. The next day, however, the full effects of my three hours of yardwork the previous day hit home! Oh my aching back!

...and back yard on the left.

   That was the Sunday and I have Mondays off so it had been my plan to do a combination of maybe running, yardwork and golf. Nix to that! I ended up spending my afternoon filing, of all things!
   So, once again, no running for the rest of that week. I am able to say, though, that this weekend I was able to get out on the Saturday for a 5K run. I ran it as my version of an SSD (short slow distance) run but this was fine with me. Doing it this way enabled me to run the whole way without stopping and it had been ages since I'd been able to say that about a run!
   So that's what I've been up to the last couple of weeks and pretty well why I haven't been blogging much. Just not much to blog about as this aging body has, once again, played some nasty little tricks on me! Gonna fire it!