Lessons in taking care of myself part 1

If you follow me on instagram, you might have noticed I am all yoga and little running lately. Don't worry!! I did not quit running.

So what's the deal?

I had some pain return in my left leg that I had not had since I trained last fall for Marine Corps Marathon. It only started to bother me when I was hitting higher mileage (18 or so for long runs) and started around a similar time this training cycle as well. Given that I have hopes to run a sub two hour half marathon in a few weeks, I decided that taking time off was probably my best (and only) bet.

Almost two weeks ago, I recommitted myself to Yoga Camp and figured that I would continue to work through that and reintegrate  strength training (that has gone by the wayside in these high mileage weeks) in case it was a muscle weakness issue. I do feel like that has made some improvements but still kind of felt like my left leg had to be dragged along and there was just some kind of "hang up" keeping me from moving it normally.

Last fall training cycle, I had talked about going to see a PT and even a chiropractor in attempt to get some relief. I went for a massage instead. It felt amazing, but really didn't touch my issues much.I was disappointed, but muddled through the rest of training with endless KT tape and occasional ibuprofen as well as decreasing the number of days I ran each week. I did go to a doctor after the marathon, but with no clear or helpful insights other than take it easy. 

Last Wednesday morning I finally decided to take some action. I set up a chiropractic appointment for Thursday morning figuring, "what's the worst that can happen?" 

I will admit I was a little nervous about what I had gotten myself into, but knew it was probably a step in the right direction.

I knew I was 100% correct when I walked in and saw this chalkboard welcoming all the new patients for the day. I was greeted with smiles and helpfulness.

I didn't wait all that long to be taken back for my assessment either which was awesome. The woman who spoke with me was professional but friendly at the same time. The basic consensus was that my left hip is higher than my right, my right shoulder was higher than the left and I carry about 7 lbs more bodyweight on my right side. Basically, a little bit out of whack.

When I met with the doctor, he seemed very confident that he could get me reset and back in action. Because of the position of my left hip/side, it was pinching or pushing on my sciatic nerve, causing many of those not so wonderful feelings in my leg! That explains SO much. I was actually relieved to be told that there was a likely solution. 

Over the weekend, I did manage to get 1 treadmill mile on Saturday and 6 outside miles on Sunday. I am currently sitting with a really tight and uncomfortable feeling in the back of my leg and hoping that my appointment this evening will help that. I really miss my running family and the opportunity of getting out of the house in the evenings. I love yoga and other activities, but because I do them at home, they don't give me the same things that running does! 

Has anyone else ever had a similar problem? What finally fixed it for you?