Friday, February 25, 2011

The road to wellness….has a toll booth


While I am making progress in my return to my former ferocious triathlete and runner self, it is not without speedbumps and a bit of a toll booth.

Eight weeks of gimpiness left me with misalignment in the back and pelvis, knots in my muscles to make any sailor jealous, and a protesting peroneal nerve. Hello, chiropractor! Hello, massage therapist! Right now I’m switching off hot dates with Dr. Greg Tilley, chiropractor, and Mario Travis, massage therapist, both who work with the Virginia Tech sports teams and know athletes. On the plus side, we can take pain and will do anything to resolve an injury. On the negative side, we are less than completely patient.

Here’s what a misaligned pelvis looks like when it runs:

 

(Photos courtesy of Coach Jim, taken Thursday when it was 34 degrees and raining, but who did not take me up on my generous offer to postpone. And yes I shed my long sleeve top in the interest of science. Don't judge me! The hot pink Saucony Kinvaras rock though!!)

Dr. Tilley’s big catch phrase with me is “don’t panic, I’ll tell you when and if it’s time to panic.” That gives you an idea of my personality.

About my dates with Mario, who I’m certain could crush a bowling ball in one hand, well I thank God that I took a childbirth class (any man reading this is probably recoiling now). I tell you it comes in handy way more now than it did having my nine-pound kids. Of course, if I could have an epidural and THEN the massage, that would be a no brainer. It took everything I had to go to my happy place today during the eternity-and-then-some it took to work the knot out of my ailing quad. I’m pretty sure I left fingernail marks in the wood of the massage table.

I’m liking the dates alright, except they always expect ME to pay. Just toll booths on the road to wellness I suppose.

Footnote: My MS Word spellcheck thinks “triathlete” is a typo?!  Dumb spellcheck!