Chiropractor Update

April 4, 2014:
This was my last draft of my blog....  Never posted.  I don't remember why.  I was doing so good at the time.    This was sometime in September of 2013.  I had to quit the chiropractor and therapist because I moved to California.  I more or less stopped running and have gained a few pounds since this last entry.  I am working on it tho.  I have a fitbit now that shows I walk over 15,000 steps a day when I work.  My back has not given me any problems, but I do need to do my core exercises before it does start bothering me.  I joined a marathon training class at the local JC and we meet on Monday nights to run together.  If I can meet some people that will run with me, maybe I can keep this up.  Today I go to work at 11, so I will do a small run before work.  We will see.  

Last week at the chiropractor my physical therapist took a new video of me.  The first was done on my first day before I started my exercises.  I have progressed far since then.  It has been about 6 weeks and I feel so much better.  I have ran another 5K, and was proud of myself for making it under 40.  My IT bands are loose, the roller is wonderful.  I highly recommend getting one. It will hurt the first few times.  I could have swore I was bruised it hurt so bad.  But it didn't bruise.  Now I can roll on my sides with only spots that are sore and it feels good!  My core is tighter, exercising has it's benefits.  The first time I did the core exercises I thought I would never make it through.  I could only do 5 "dead bugs" at a time, now I can do 40 without hurting.  My video shows I need to work on my hamstrings.  They are excessively tight, so work begins on those.  I wish I could explain the exercise to you, it really pulls those hami's.  My therapist also is going to help me work on running more miles!  Today I am to run 3 miles at a normal speed.  Next time she wants me to run 2 miles with interval speeds.  This is to get your body used to going faster.  

I 

2013 Rio Grande 5K Run

When I returned from my trip, I wanted to get back to running and eating right.  I didn't.  I procrastinated with my running and my eating.  I signed up for the 5K run and was going to run last Tuesday to "get back into it", but instead I woke up with a REALLY bad back.  I have had back problems since I fell in 1980 in August.  When I went back to work after having Jessi, I had major knee and hip pain so I went to see a chiropractor.  I've been going back to the chiropractor a couple of times a year since then.  

This time I went two days in a row and I still didn't feel right.  I heard of a Christian related office that advertises a "whole" person approach, so I thought; why not?  I called them and started on Thursday with a video of movement, x-rays and some time talking with the dr about my back.  When I went back the next day for my first adjustment I was still walking strange.  Looking at the x-rays my spine looks like someone tried to draw a straight line without a ruler!  My neck is totally straight, no curve at all.  All that carrying mail did not help my spine at all.  But we knew that.  My video shows limited movement in the upper back and stiffness in my leg and core muscles.  

He adjusted me using the Palmer method of laying face down and using pressure to move the joints back into place.  What a difference from the laying on the side and jerking me into place.  I actually walked better when I left the office.  

So............I went to my 5K not knowing how I would do.  I felt okay that morning.  I had one cup of coffee, my vitamins, a small smoothie with one scoop of protein and greek yogurt.  I was worried about having to make a pit stop, but I didn't.  Yay!  I came in 5th out of 5 in my age group.  40:33 was my time.  This was actually a personal best, so I am proud of myself for hanging in there.  Who knows how I would have done with some actual training!  

There wasn't as many people in this run as I am used to seeing, so for a while I was really all alone on the road.  I had to run across Bridge while the police held the traffic for me all by myself and I felt that I should speed up, so I did.  I could feel my muscles kick in and pick up the speed which is a weird feeling.  Don't know how much faster I went..... probably not enough for anyone watching to notice, but I did feel it.  

Then I went to work and it was really busy!  I clocked in at 15 activity points on my weight watchers active link.  That again was a personal best!  This morning my hip joints are a little sore.  I will take it easy for a couple of days and go work out on Weds.  I am going to see the chiropractor three times this week and next and also go through some therapy to improve my mobility.  They will work on my core muscles and my leg flexibility   That should enable me to move more freely and maybe keep my back from "going out" every time I run. 

If I can get my back from giving me problems my goal in the next year is to run a 10K and maybe do a half-marathon by the time I am 60.  Wouldn't that be something!  

Back From My Trip.....Time to Get Back to Work

I am back from my long trip to Virginia.....then across the country to Nevada, then to LA and back to Albuquerque.  I am looking forward to going back to work, getting back on my normal diet and getting some runs in.  Today I am relaxing more than anything.  I woke up at 7 AM.  Not normal, except I have been getting up early every day on my trip so we could get on the road early.  I had a smoothie for breakfast.  I have not over-eaten while I was gone but just not eating what I normally eat.  

Jessi likes to eat proteins, so I had more meat than I normally do.  Steak, bacon, etc.  Not bad, just different.  Sitting in a truck for 10-12 hours a day is not good for your muscles.  I don't know how truckers do it.

At Mary's we had bacon wrapped corn on the cob, yummy.....but bacon again!  We also went to a sausage place near the beach.  I tried to watch the fries, and I had a sun-dried tomato and chicken sausage with peppers and onions, no sauce.  Still too much.  

I have a weight watchers meeting today.  I am scared to go.  I know I gained, but the trick is to get it off quickly.

I took a survey online today.  It calculates your age based on your activity, illnesses and life style.  I managed a 53, which is 5 years younger than I actually am, so I am at least going in the right direction.

So anyway........ Back to work.  

Taking A Short Break

Thursday AM.  I should go for a run.  My leg is feeling a bit weird.  I need to see the chiropractor again.  I have a ton of things to do before work.  I need to clean my bathroom, wash the sheets on the spare bed, pack and that's all I have time for.  

I am leaving for Virginia tomorrow morning at 8:00.  I am helping my youngest daughter move from Newport News to Las Vegas, NV.  It's gonna be a long trip and I have been trying to get my things together for the last two days.  I made a trip to Weight Watchers, returned a couple things at Big 5, went to Target for a set of headphones on sale, got gas, went to the grocery store and the library.  I picked the peppers that were good to go and made a meatloaf with my homegrown tomatoes, peppers and stuffed a couple of homegrown bell peppers.  It was yummy.  Did some laundry, watched some TV and went to bed.  

So my fitness has to be put on the back burner for a few days, or I should say a couple of weeks  I have got to get my back into place before I start running again.  I can't stand the way my knee, hip, joints pop.  I wonder if a joint supplement would help.  

Chunky Monkey 5K

I rested my knee, changed my schedule with another supervisor, lost 4 hours of work all so I could run this evening at this 5K.  I was all ready.  I really felt good about it, thought I'd do a great job and then the weather happened.  This is a pic of the approaching storm, lots of lightening and it dumped a ton of rain.  We really needed the rain, but just not tonight.  

I go to work tomorrow at 2 PM, so I will go do a long run on the treadmill tomorrow before work.  I have to check my schedule to see when I can do the next run.  There is one on the 28th, but I will be out of town.  So August is next.  http://www.active.com/running/albuquerque-nm/rio-grande-half-marathon-and-5k-run-walk-2013

Chiropractor Appointment

I got to the chiropractor yesterday morning.  He put electrodes on my back, and heat.....awwww feels so good.  Then some icy jel with ultrasound for my left knee.  My injuries are what I thought they were, (I should be a doctor he he).  The sartorius muscle in my thigh, and some tendons in my knee inflamed, so I am sitting it out one more day.  Tomorrow morning I will try and run for a mile and then I have the 5K Sunday afternoon.  I don't want to overdo it and hurt my knee so I can't run on Sunday.  At least yesterday at work I wasn't limping.  It's also much better this morning.  sartorius    



It takes a long time to get these muscles to work like they should.  I've done a lot of reading on how to get in shape to run and while it's not easy, I'm working on it.  

Today's Run/Walk/Run/Walk......

Went for my "run" this morning at about 10.  It was 84 degrees out and since I am trying to acclimate myself to the heat, that was okay.  I am using three apps all at once, Google Play Music, Map My Run and C25K Pro.  I am having trouble with the music.  I have downloaded some of my I tunes to it and it runs ok for awhile and then it will say "that track is not available".  So aggravating while you are running.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong with the program, but I guess I will get it right eventually.  I keep working on it.  

The Map My Run app is great.  It tells me when I have reached a mile, lets me know how fast I covered that mile and then does it again at 2 miles.  When you look at the whole run you can see how fast you ran at certain spots and how s l o w you were at others.   It tells you what your elevation is too which is kinda neat.  I started at home at 5191 and ran uphill to 5285.  That is not too much, but enough to tell me I need to do it more to get in better shape.  My muscles hurt!   

I made a chiropractor appointment for tomorrow.  I know my back is out because my knees hurt and my left leg is bothering me.  When I go to stand on that leg a muscle inside the thigh feels weird.  Looking it up, I think it could be the "sartorius".  Assists in flexing, adduction/abduction (weak) and lateral rotation of hip, and flexion of knee.     

I am old, so that's probably much of the problem, but I refuse to give up.  Tomorrow I will rest, well as much as you can rest when you walk for 8 hours.  Friday I will get out and do another 2 miles and then on Sunday afternoon I have the 5K.  After that we will see what else I will do.  I need to sign up for another run for sometime in August and September.  

The C25K app is great also, but I have been ignoring it when it tells me to run....I stop running and walk when I feel the need.  I am stuck in week 6 cause I need to get that down before I get to week 7, which is mostly walk 5 minutes, run 25 minutes.  If I can't do run 10 minutes how am I going to run 25?  I can do it on the treadmill at the gym, but out on the road it is much harder.  I want to get to the point where I feel like I can run forever.  It's happened only once and that was on the treadmill in the air conditioning.  

Oh, and one other difficulty.  I gotta pee too often.  I don't want to go somewhere with no bathrooms.  When I ran at the Bosque trail, I peed before I left, stopped at the McDonalds close to where I ran and then had to stop again on the way home.  There are no portapottys at the Rio Bravo Bosque parking lot and the only one with bathrooms close by is on Central which is still a drive.  One cup of coffee in the morning is about all I can handle before a run.  Don't know what I will do if I ever want to run more than 2 miles at a time!