Making Do

Today has been a day of compromises.

My hip is acting up—something I’ve been reluctant to talk or post about, using the brilliant logic that a problem not written or spoken of does not exist. Right. I don’t think the recurrence of this injury has to keep me from the marathon in January, since I’ve got plenty of time to fix it, and it actually doesn’t bother me too much when I’m running, only afterwards. But that’s the early warning sign, and I’m taking it seriously. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how to proceed from here.

I’ve tried physical therapy in the past, and each therapist I went to fixed something, but never the actual problem I went to them for in the first place. I’m willing to invest time and money in something that will solve the problem, but given my past experiences, I’m feeling a little wary right now. I’ve actually had better success diagnosing and treating my own problems, than going to a professional.

This is a soft tissue injury, not a bone or cartilage problem. I’ve had the hip x-rayed and had an MRI, so this isn’t something necessarily beyond my ability to correct on my own. But I also think my biomechanics are out of whack, which I probably can’t fix alone. I’ve got a touch of patellar tendonitis in my left knee and some other kind of tendonitis in my right hip, so the signs of a biomechanical problem are definitely there. So I’m wondering if the PT who fixed my Q-angles (when I really wanted help with swelling and tendonitis in my foot and ankle) can help. He’s into tape. Seriously. He puts super-adhesive tape in different places and it makes you use your muscles differently, correcting imbalances. But would he really help my hip, or would he just end up fixing something totally different?

Besides, I’ve got a roll of duct tape right here. . .

So while I dither over whether or not to blow a few hundred bucks on therapy that probably won’t help, I have decided to back off the long runs this weekend. I spent this morning in the gym doing elliptical and running on the treadmill. I’m no fan of the treadmill, but at least it’s a stable, level surface, which I sure can’t say about the bayou trails. In fact, my hip started nagging me again almost exactly two weeks after I started doing the bayou trails again, so that could be part of the problem. I love those trails, but they’re uneven and probably do me no favors.

My short-term plan, then, is lots more work on the foam roller and with my trigger point ball, and limit my workouts this week to the elliptical machine and treadmill, instead of running around on uneven surfaces. I need to also go see Mary (how long have I been saying that?) but work is so crazy right now that I just don’t see it happening. I suppose I’ll have to make the time, no matter how big the hassle, since there’s no way to do it conveniently.

The other way I’m making do today is with the computer. I woke up from my post-Indian food nap to find our DSL wasn’t working. The lights on the box were orange and buzzing, and when I tried to reset it, the box failed completely. Dead. Nice. So I’m on the laptop, on dialup tonight. Isn’t it just our luck that the DSL failed on the weekend, adding to the delay in getting a new box shipped out? I’m glad, though, that I’ve kept paying for my dialup service. It came in handy on vacation, and it’s preserving my sanity tonight. I can live with a slow connection, but none at all would simply not be acceptable.

But these are pretty high-class problems, as far as things go. Dan is going to try to find another power supply for the DSL box tomorrow, just in case that’s the problem. And in the meantime, I’m still connected (slowly) with the world!

Recent Workouts
Monday: 4 mile run
Tuesday: 4 mile run
Wednesday: rest day
Thursday: 4 mile run
Friday: rest day
Saturday: 90 minute elliptical, 60 minute treadmill run