Stretchy, Stretchy

I believe that once I say to someone that I'm going to do something, well, I gotta do it. Through mentioning my ultimate running goal of defeating a marathon to small groups of people, I am now routinely asked how my training's going. Well, I haven't technically started, I say, but I'm building myself up to start training. There's a little matter of conquering my SI joint injury by repeatedly stretching and strengthening the muscles around my hips. That takes time, patience, and a longer attention span than what I can muster right now.

This is me...in 50 years, if I keep it up!

Focus...

45 minutes is how long it takes to get through a full stretch session for my SI joint. Afterwards, I slap on my maternity belt and am on my way. Running, cycling, more stretching. I've sort of neglected the other stretches I should also be doing because this regimen takes so long, so I've decided to set up a plan around it to make sure I'm on track to one day be on track to train for that dad-blame marathon...

Yikes... what have I gotten myself into?

Clam shells, pretzels, lateral something-or-others... after this is all said and done with, the word "pretzel" will never hold the same meaning to me again. I also had to buy a blood pressure sleeve to measure the pressure at which I am exhorting when I do these leg lift things. Which reminds me, I've forgotten to do those in the last three days. And my PT knows it, too. Kind of like how a dental hygienist knows when you haven't flossed, or how Santa knows when you've been... well anyway, the pressure's on.

My only question now is how long? I don't know how long I have to do these stretches for my hip joint. Indefinitely? Till death do us part?

TIR 2012, Maternity Belts, and Such

This year's Texas Independence Relay (TIR) came and went without a hitch. God blessed us with healthy runners and wildflowers galore. God also blessed me with the wisdom and foresight to bow out of the race this year... as a runner. BUT, I still volunteered to drive one of the race vans and was put in charge of six runners. I lived vicariously through them as they began and finished each leg.

Road to Recovery
With the TIR no longer a focus, I've been dishing out some serious cash for physical therapy lately, and it has put me on this path. It's the devil's backbone of pathways but still, the finish line is a completed marathon and I feel that since I have a PT looking after me, as long as I do everything she says, I'm well on my way. I mean, my butt isn't even sore anymore! heh...

All right now Shelly, you need to buy a maternity belt and wear it for a week. Let's see how you do.

Ok. Oh wait. What?

In a more delicate fashion, my PT gave me this advice last week as a way to help support my Sacroiliac (SI) joint while walking and thus, allowing me to finally run again. I looked around HEB, Walgreens, but come to find out, they only sell those belts at maternity stores.

So I go, there, to a store of this sort. I walk in and immediately, I feel surrounded by pregnant women and no available store clerks. I get a little scared by this. For one, I am waaay out of my element, and two, being surrounded by items pertaining to motherhood creates mixed emotions. I may have told the store clerks that it was for a sports injury about a half dozen times. And in a maternity store, that is the ONLY PLACE where you can safely ask someone if she's pregnant!! I mean, they asked me a few times and I wasn't offended at all. It's their job to ask. They even asked me if I was there for the Birthing Class (why all the Buddha bellies were there), and I politely replied, "You #*@*&!"

The belt works, though. It really does a wonder on me. My joint occasionally aches without it, but with it, I can jog. What a different a month of stretching and therapy can do!! When I started all this, I couldn't walk correctly on account of the.... glute issue. I may still walk slightly crooked, but I'm slowly building those muscles through daily stretches and weekly sessions.