Ran Another 5K But Back Came My Injury

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Encouraged with my performance at a local 5K on July 10th, I decided to sign up for another local 5K in Newbury Park on Saturday, July 16th.

The First Annual Care and Compassion 5K run in support of Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Hospital in Newbury Park was one of the smallest races I've run, with about 75 participants or so, and not particularly exciting as it looped around Peppertree Park 4 1/2 times, but it was fun and enjoyable and the people were really nice. Plus it always feels good supporting a local race that supports a good cause.

Before the start of the raceRight after the start of the race

But I knew going in I was there more for fun than for competition, as my little psoas muscle soreness was back. Darn it!

Some injuries you can run through, some you can't. My psoas injury causes me pain and thus slows me down quite a bit, but I can still run. So I did the best I could with the obnoxious pain in my left lower navel area. I finished in a pedestrian 19:30 or so, roughly 2 minutes slower than my typical 5K times and a minute slower than the prior weekend's 5K (which was run on tight, sore calves).

Yes indeed, I'm getting old. And feeling it. But the older and (relatively speaking) less competitive I get, the more I enjoy the camaraderie of a local race. Pretty much everybody at these local 5K races are there to have fun and enjoy a nice morning.

This race was so small that there were only 2 age divisions - under 40 and 40 and over. I handily won the 40+ division and was rewarded with a cool water bottle with a freezable center to keep my drink cool. It is now sitting with the 12 other water bottles in my garage, ready for action.

Today it is Wednesday, July 27th. I spent a 5 day long weekend out of town with my family and am back at it. Still sore, but in good spirits. Even though I'm sore I'm signed up for the Bulldog 25K trail run a month from today. We'll see how that goes.

Light at the End of the Tunnel: Two Month Old Injury Disappears Overnight

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On Sunday May 8th, I woke up with a pain in my lower abdomen that my chiropractor was eventually able to diagnose as a psoas muscle issue. This damn injury caused me to ditch my marathon plans a month ago and deal with the issue.

I visited my chiropractor regularly (generally 2 or 3 times per week) and he adjusted me and did things that didn't seem like they would have a direct impact on the dull pain. But my years of first-hand experience with injuries told me I had to be patient, not that I didn't need periodic assurances from my chiropractor that this thing would eventually go way. As seasoned as I am with injuries, I still needed to hear that to stay positive.

For 2 months I hadn't been able to run at full speed or for too long of a distance. But the good thing was that I could still run, albeit some days with more discomfort, other days with not-so-bad discomfort. Felt good to just get out there and stay consistent.

After my bone-headed 6.5 mile run in a pair of Vibram FiveFingers on July 2nd, even though my calves were thrashed and sore, I felt some hope in that my turnover started

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Experimenting With the Vibram FiveFingers: Running Practically Barefoot

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While I stopped training for a marathon a several months ago due to my persistent psoas muscle problem, the good thing is I'm still able to run. Maybe not really fast or really long, but I'm still running, which is good. I'm thrilled that I can continue running through a nagging, puzzling injury.

So this past Saturday I was instructed by my wife to take my 8 year old over to Jack's Shoes in Westlake Village to buy him a pair of Teva sandals. I like Jack's Shoes as it reminds me of the good old days when you get great customer service by knowledgeable people at a family run, non-chain business.

I noticed they carried those goofy looking shoes made like a glove, with a compartment for each toe. While for the most part I've been ignoring all the hubbub about barefoot running, seeing these shoes up close made me curious.

So after outfitting my boy with his shoe, I tried on the Vibram FiveFingers Komodo Sport model, which my helpful sales guy said was pretty popular with some runner types. I told him I run long distances. Putting the shoe on was kind of fun. The same process as putting on a glove...make sure you get the toes aligned with the toe compartments, then account for each toe to make sure they're in place.

 

These shoes literally felt like a glove and of course you can't wear socks inside of them. First thing through my mind was, I wonder who else tried these on and placed their smelly feet where my mangled monstrosities were now residing. But I quickly got p

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