I Need To See Your Socks

Ugh, I have just finished a terrible run. Terrible. I hate when those happen, so so much. And I know they happen and happen for the strangest of reasons or no reason at all. Heck, I'm one to encourage others by saying just that.

"Don't worry. Bad runs happen. Sometimes your body just doesn't want to function and there's nothing you can do about it."

I'm not so sure I believe myself anymore. I mean, I'm sure I'll believe myself after I get out of my slump and have a good run.

But for now, I feel disgusted and angry. I have both a list of issues and a list of things to blame. Let's begin, shall we?

Issues:

• My shin muscles attacked me. This after a conversation with one of my managers today about how impossible it is to run with bad shin splints. I got them bad today, too. It's been awhile since I've had "zombie legs" from shin cramps. (Zombie legs = can't use your shin muscles to lift your feet, as is required for walking and running.)
• The balls of my feet hurt. Ugh! It's like there are teensy pebbles or a piece of coarse sandpaper under my feet. Annoying
• Gross alert: My "post-nasal drip" (back of throat phlegm) was super profuse, thick, and gross. It was choking me. It's kind of hard to breathe through that stuff!
• My nose was burning. Did I discuss the post-workout sneezing issue with you all this spring? If not, it needs its own blog post. It's the strangest thing and it only seems to happen when it's not hot and humid. Great. Anyway, this phenomenon is often paired with burning nasal passages. Not comfortable. Exercise sneezes anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
  

Things to blame:

• New shoes. I love them, I do, but I'm still in the awful breaking-in phase. Have you ever had a smooth transition between new shoes and nice broken in shoes? If so, how did you pull that off? Anyway, I think I can blame the shoes for the shin splints.
• Socks. I just bought new socks and I'm convinced they're terrible. For years I've been a hard core Hanes athletic socks gal, but I just bought 3 pairs of Goldtoe something somethings at Target. I don't know--they looked athletic-y. I've varied from the classic Hanes before and the results were similar to the sandpaper sensation I experienced tonight. So, do socks matter? Why? What kind of socks do you run in? Why? I need to know. I'm in the market.
• Work shoes. I wore new work shoes yesterday and they were heels. They hurt the balls of my feet. THEN I had to pound up and down the stairs a bunch at work today and my feet hurt again. I hate shoes. You know, if everyone wore athletic shoes in a professional work environment, I'm pretty sure no one would look less professional because of it. Why can't this be a law? I'm confident that allowing athletic shoes in corporate dress codes would improve the cost of health care for that company. There, I said it. Prove me wrong.
  
• Holistic health. I bought a netti pot (squeeze bottle) thingy last week and have used it a few times. I'm now convinced it has robbed me of my body's natural ability to thin out my back-of-my-throat goop. Gross, yes, but it happens. I'm sorry. I've had this phlegm issue since I was a wee one in gym class. Stupid gym teachers.

So, that's my Negative Nelly post for now. Please offer any words of wisdom you may have. Especially about the socks.

Cryin' and Whinin'

My sixth grade teacher used to tell us that Country Western music (C&W) was actually Cryin' & Whinin' music. I couldn't agree more.

Using that logic, though, I'm practically a superstar country music singer. I feel like I've done nothing but gripe and complain about my ailments over the last two weeks. First the plague (summer cold), then the stiff neck, now a crippling attack of lower back pain. What gives? Why everything at once? And why everything at once while I'm physically challenging myself more than ever before? Plus, I feel like a whining child in--yes, you guessed it--gym class again. Every time I let ABC Linda know that I'm not feeling so hot or my neck hurts or my back hurts, I feel like I'm making excuses. In a way I am, I guess, because I don't want to come across as disrespectful or lazy when I opt out of an exercise, you know? I'd rather have it out there in the open. And I'm grateful for my trainer because she doesn't make a big deal of it. She just suggests lots of stretching and lets me do my thing.

So, these three ailments ... could they all be tied together?

Well, I'm confident that the back issue is from boot camp (I'm almost positive of precisely which exercise did it), but I'm not sure I can tie the other two to that. Nor do I want to. Adventure Boot Camp has been a wonderful experience and I've been pushing myself and achieving awesome results because of it. It's not ABC's fault my body is falling apart; it's my fault for putting it through years of disuse.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting tonight is to let you know that I've made a decision. This is a big deal for a notoriously indecisive (well kind of notorious ... sometimes) person.

Earlier this week, ABC Brian mentioned a Saturday boot camp activity at a local park. I immediately wanted to go, but wasn't thrilled about using another one of my "vacation" days to get up early and sweat. What can I say ... I'm naturally lazy. Anyway, I've been toying with the idea for a few days. Well, after going to boot camp this morning and straining my back even more (attending camp this morning was probably a mistake, in hindsight), I've decided to skip tomorrow and go to Saturday's session. That'll give my back some time to get a little better before pushing it even more.

Wheeee! I made a decision!

So, what's up with my back?

I kind of have an existing lower back injury. I use the word "injury" lightly, because in my mind an injury involves a moment when you hurt yourself. And while this back thing probably involved a moment like that, I have no idea when or how long ago.

I do know some things, though. I know that I first saw a chiropractor for it while working at a previous job, so probably somewhere in 2005 or 2006. I dabbled with that briefly, using all my chiropractor points for my insurance and really not seeing any long-term improvements. I kind of have a bad taste for chiropractors, as do many people I know, but I don't hold anything against them personally (sorry Lindsey!) I'd like to not return to one if I can help it. I might look into physical therapy someday, though. I've heard some great things about it.

I also know that my back has "gone out" really, really badly one time. I was in the basement of my last apartment and POW! Locked up while bent over at about 90 degrees. That was the worst pain I've ever experienced and probably the scariest thing I've ever been through. My eyes browned out a few times and I hurt so bad I wanted to puke. I couldn't straighten up or sit down or get on the floor ... nothing. With my mom's help I finally managed to sit on a really high stack of pillows on the couch. Awful, awful, awful. I get chills thinking about it.

I know that I inadvertently caused a back pain episode (might have been the one above, actually), when I gave a toddler a "ride" once by putting her on my feet while sitting and lifting my feet up and down repeatedly. The next day was Hell. This is probably another reason I don't like children all that much. =)

I know that something as simple as trying to move a box (heavy, light, empty, whatever) with my feet will almost surely cause me to hurt the next day. DON'T KICK BOXES, PEOPLE!!!

So, that's my back story (heh heh ... get it?) in a nutshell. It hurts. A lot. It's a huge hassle when it gets flared up, but it goes away. It makes simple things, like walking, getting up, or bending over to wash my hands at the bathroom sink, really ridiculously difficult (I'm tall ... sinks are low). It makes focusing/functioning at work nearly impossible. It makes me want to just lie in bed for days.

But, I have my Biofreeze and plenty of Aleve, and my mom delivered a heating pad and some healthy (or not) Chik-Fil-A tonight. By Friday's boot camp, I should be a bit more ready to roll. Hopefully I can enjoy at least a little of my "vacation" by the pool--you know how comfy pool chairs can be. And hopefully I can go into my final week of boot camp at FULL THROTTLE without any stupid ailments to hold me back.

Three cheers for sleeping in tomorrow! Hip hip ...