off the rails

I drove to Ohio for Memorial Day weekend and, as Tom likes to say, the wheels came off.  I'd been running ok, struggling to add to my workouts but not making many gains as far as mileage.  Then sitting in the car just killed me.   We had to leave right around the time everyone else in DC hit the highway.  I wasn't all that happy about that.  My step-son has missed 17 days of school this year' which is nothing considering he somehow convinced his mother that he had headaches for 2 years and didn't attend school.   Fortunately for him the malady only struck on the weekdays.  I'm not Sherlock Holmes so I'll not elaborate on my assumptions....as I could do an entire post on that.  Anyways, we've been notified by the school than any more days missed and we'll be in trouble so we couldn't leave early. 

Hitting the road at 3:30 on a holiday weekend in what is always the top or 2nd highest traffic congestion area in the US....isn't optimal.  The normal 5:45 trip took us 8 hours.  When I unfolded from the car (even having stopped multiple times) my back, hamstrings, etc felt like I'd been folded into a suitcase and mailed to Siberia.  Fortunately it was a beautiful night in Ohio so I was able to do a good walk and some good stretching while everyone else went in and went to sleep. 

Saturday I got up early and did a nice nostalgic run around my hometown.  Mom tagged along on the bicycle and she added about 8 more miles.  Having been running only on hilly trails, and in really hot and humid conditions, I was usually only running between 7:20 and 8:10 pace per mile back in DC.  That morning, maybe because of nostalgic energy, maybe the weather, or maybe running on asphalt...I averaged just under 6:10 pace.

The next few days I didn't run.  We did a lot of family activities, went to Niagara Falls, etc.  So I just took those days off.  I didn't even do my physical therapy.  My mom and I walked ourselves silly though.  Every evening when Inna and Vitalii ran out of energy mom and I would head back out and go, go, go.  We had a great time.  My mother sure is a tough woman ready to tag along on any adventure.  Unfortunately my habit of taking the road less traveled with my adventures meant that one evening in an unique section of Buffalo her car got broken into and they stole her Garmin.  Booo!!!!

The drive back to DC was around 8 hours, but I didn't stop as often and I sure did pay the price.  My first run my knees hurt, a lot :-(.  I took a day off and did my exercises then the next day when I tried to run I made 2 miles and they hurt so bad I decided to walk.  I spent 3 days icing and not running and got back in to see Matt.  We decided that my Psoas got too tight.  It was still pretty crazy tight.  He tortured me with some stretches for about 30 minutes and then did more dry needling followed by some stim. 

We're thinking that sitting shuts off my glutes, because when he measures them they're strong enough.  Weak right glute and tight right Psoas pulling me crooked. The exercises I'm doing should do the trick, but he added a glute activation exercise to do before I run.  I'll take today off because my quads are really hurting from the dry needling.  Then tomorrow I'll try to get back after it again. 

No more cars!!!!