Running again....

This blog came into existence due to a love of music, and a love of running; I combined the two, talking shoes, courses, races, music, you name it. Sadly, there hasn't been a single thing on this blog about running in quite some time. That changes now. If you're not interested in running and music, or hearing about the wonders of the SI joint, or one of the neatest ways EVER to train for a half marathon, no need to follow after the jump ;)
The last year has been an interesting smorgasbord - some might even say a cornucopia - of ailments and injuries, peaking about a month ago as I realized I had no less than four specialists I was seeing on a fairly regular basis to answer a few simple questions. 1) Why the hell is my body so broken? and 2) What can we do to fix it?

I'm only going to stick to the running ailments here in keeping line with this blog. Currently, I'm working with a physical therapist and a podiatrist to address three chief concerns.

1) Bunions (because I'm actually a much older person just pretending to be 36, at least from a joint perspective)

2) A broke as hell sacroiliac (SI) joint, leading to sacroiliac joint dysfunction

3) Disc herniation at L4-L5

The good news is, the source of all of these problems was figured out after 3 months of visits - one of my legs is 3/4" longer than the other.  You would think that I'd notice something like that, but you'd be wrong. I apparently have the situational awareness of a potato.  

(Random keto side note: I expected to miss potatoes a lot more than I actually do.)

See, the funny thing is, I signed up for the Disney Wine n' Dine Half Marathon with two of my nearest and dearest friends.  That half marathon is in 3 weeks.  I've been kept off of running for the majority of the last two months because of the aforementioned issues.  This will be my 7th half marathon, and now holds the record for the least amount of training I've been able to do on pavement to prepare for a race.

However - my docs happen to be pretty amazing people.  I went through a custom fitting for some sweet new full-foot orthotics (there I go, acting 75 again), and it turns out that with some "adjustments" (in the form of a very large man twisting my legs and my back in ways I did not know they could go, whilst telling me to hold my breath and release it as he pushed down as hard as he could to put all my joints back where they belong), I could actually start working on this marathon training again. 

(Did you know that a hip and back adjustment, done properly, will result in your legs being the same length again? *the more you know!*)

But not on the track, not on the pavement, and not on a treadmill.  My current physical therapist said I could run all I want - in the pool.  This baffled me at first. I've seen pool treadmills, but the thought of just running in a pool seemed foreign to me.  "Oh no," she assured me, "my entire training for one of my races consisted of pool running, without a single training run on dry land. It made the actual race a breeze to not have resistance."

I've been pool running for two weeks now, and I've added some ankle weights to it as well, just to increase the intensity of the workout. I run for an hour each time, then go through the 214 stretches that I have written down to help me heal a bit more quickly...and I'm not complaining, because they actually do work.  

I'm fortunate to have my own pool, and I also happen to live in a climate that supports running year-round, so daily, I hop on in, turn on the outdoor speakers, and my current running jams look a little like this:

- Notorious BIG, "One More Chance" 

- Dr. Dre & Eminem, "I Need a Doctor"

- Dierks Bentley, "Somewhere on a Beach", "Different For Girls", "What Was I Thinking?"

- Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Soul to Squeeze", "Californication"

- Sublime, "Wrong Way", "Santeria", "What I Got"

- Luis Fonza, "Despacito"

- Shakira, "Try Anything"

- Tyga, "In My Room"

- Big Sean, "I Don't **** With U"

- Blink-182, "All The Small Things", "Aliens Exist"

- Camilla Cabello, "Bad Things"

- Ed Sheeran, "Don't"

- DNCE, "Cake By The Ocean"

- Pitbull, "Messin' Around"

- Foo Fighters, "Monkey Wrench"

It's a small sampling, and random as hell, but it works for me. The best news is, I'm running again. And next week, I'm allegedly going to be cleared to run on dry land, which should feel pretty good without water resistance and ankle weights. 

Happy to add that the keto nutrition plan has not depleted my energy or kept me feeling sluggish in any way; I think I made it through the keto fog pretty quickly, and I haven't had issues with getting in 2 a day workouts when time allows....bike/stretches, run in pool/stretches.

Tomorrow, I'll hit a little more on the nutrition side of things, and how keto has played into my daily workouts, but all in all....I'm happy where all of this is going. Can't wait to see where I go from here.