I try really hard not to whine and complain on my blog. Especially when I am fighting a long-term battle with something. That said, I’ve been in an epic battle with my body over its willingness to run. If you’ve been reading for a while you have probably noticed how little running and racing I’m doing these days. It’s not because of lack of want but because I’m still struggling with injury and pain. Check out this post for a complete background on my running and injury history.

I love lots of different forms of working out and being active but running is the thing that made me really love working out regularly. Although I try to redirect my attention to other activities – yoga, CrossFit, strength training – I am really frustrated that I cannot run the way that I want to. I’ve pretty much come to terms that my marathon days are over but it breaks my heart. I wish more than anything that I could train and run pain-free but it’s just not reality. It’s been over two years since I’ve run the Marine Corps Marathon and I have struggled with pain in my right hip ever since. I don’t understand why it hasn’t improved given my reduction in running and focus on yoga, strength, massage, etc. I feel stronger and more flexible than I’ve ever felt in my life but my hip just seems to get worse and worse. Also, I had my running gate analyzed in-depth during my CrossFit Endurance Seminar and there is no reason from a technique standpoint that I should hurt the way I do.

Yesterday I reached the point where I couldn’t squat without pain not only in my hip but also in my low back. That is not okay. I immediately called my chiropractor and went in to see him. As predicted, my pelvis was misaligned causing the increase in pain in my hip and the pain on the right side of my low back and even up into the right side of my neck. It’s crazy how everything is connected. He got it fixed for now and the pain has been alleviated but it’s not permanent. I have to decide where to go from here.

I’m committing to taking care of this. I’m going to see my chiropractor regularly, do a consult with a physical therapist to get corrective exercises and get serious about mobility work. This is a manageable situation but it will take dedication and patience on my part. I don’t just want to give up on doing everything I love because of this issue.

So in the spirit of “say it, do it,” I’m telling you now that December is going to be all about mobility and rehab. Foam rolling, release work, stretching, strengthening. I’m going to tie it into the blog and do a series of posts about mobility work. We’ll talk about foam rolling, working with things like lacrosse balls and tennis balls for myofascial release, yoga for runners, strength/stability exercises for runners, etc.

Who’s joining me?