Runner, Heal Thyself

People sometimes ask me about common running injuries.  I've had a few.  I own rolls of KT tape.  I use the term Achilles more than I should.  I'm pretty smart about these things, I suppose.

Often the exchange looks like this:

Random Running Friend:  "Hey Runs4Cake Girl!  The bottom of my foot hurts when I wake up/there is a twinge of pain in my left knee when I run/right behind my right ankle hurts when I start a run, but then the pain subsides."

Runs4Cake Girl:  "Hang on!  The first thing I need to know is:  Are you in the right shoe? And how many miles do you have on your shoes?"

That is my standard go-to response to injury inquiries.  I usually pin the shoes as the culprit.  Occam's Razor, right? 


HOWEVER, when the bottom of my foot hurts, or when there is a twinge of pain in my left knee, or when my right IT band has caused me nothing but physical discomfort and mental anguish like it has for the last four weeks or so, I do not seem to think about my own shoes AT ALL.  


Even though I meticulously note my mileage for each pair. 
Even though I know that all of my shoes are past their prime. 

I somehow never connected my heavy mileage shoes to the problems with my left Achilles and my right IT band.

I think my little aches and pains have made my runs seems like chores.  I've skipped so many runs during this running cycles blaming the heat or the stress of going through my job interview.

Why didn't I realize that my shoes were too blame?

I ran in my new pair of Lunarglide 3 Breathes yesterday.  Not a twinge of pain.

God bless new running shoes!

Running Milestones of a Different Sort

What?  There was a clearance and a discount code for the clearance!  And free shipping.
Don't judge.

I cannot believe that three boxes of brand new Nikes were delivered to my front doorstep.  I mean I was there when I made the online order.  I distinctly remember doing it.  But the CONCEPT of three pairs of Nikes is a little nebulous; three actual orange boxes on my porch makes it real.

Yeah.

Stuff got real.

I also got my very first sports massage.

Yeah.

Stuff got more real.

The massage therapist told me that I needed to start stretching.  I believed her after all the knots she had to work out in my legs.  She, of course, commented on my extremely tight IT band.

I really need to be a grown up and use my foam roller.

I guess I am a real runner now.  Or still.  Or more so.  Or something.

Serotonin

Who doesn't love serotonin?  Runners make more of the stuff.  It's like we runners chase the stuff.
 
But sometimes we forget that that little beautiful molecule is our reward for the run.  Lately, I've struggled significantly with my training.  I blame some serious possible life choices and changes that I've been facing lately.  I can't divulge more at this time.  Everything is unresolved; everything is in limbo; everything hurts.

I'll feel worried or overwhelmed or angry or peevish or generally unhappy.  I'll decide to not run.  But then somehow I talk myself into the run because even though no one enjoys the beginning of each run, everyone loves the end.

Neurotransmitters are beautiful, beautiful things.

National Running Day!

It is National Running Day.

I'm obviously going to go for a run.  But I am going for the run not because it is National Running Day, but because it is Wednesday, and I run on Wednesday. Every Wednesday.

For runners darn near every day is National Running Day!

Influence

Today during my son's last day of third grade the kids worked on filling a memory book with favorites, thoughts, stories, and pictures from the school year.  As I looked through it, I was shocked to see this:  

I feel like I have influence.

I feel like it isn't what I say, but what I do.

I feel like this is quite a bit of pressure.

Nevertheless, I am touched and proud.