Archives for May 12, 2006

Chris had said to give it a try. I made my way down to the fitness center to run on the “mill.” I selected the “5K” program, 6.0 mph, and a 1% incline. I began to run, keeping Chris’ caution to run “my pace” to avoid further injury. It felt okay. No, it felt GREAT. I wanted to scream “woo hoo” but didn’t. I just smiled, ran, and thought, “I AM RUNNING.”

Again I woke feeling good, and again I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable as I drove down the freeway in the cracker-jack boxcar. My driving habits have been slightly different since the accident. I have been spending more time in the slow lane since there would be an escape to the shoulder of the road if needed. I’ve been looking in my rear-view mirror A LOT too. Consequently, it takes more time to get anywhere. The more time in the car, the more back pain. I had an appointment with Chris for some therapeutic massage on my back so my route this morning took me to a new freeway ~ which moved a bit quicker than my usual path. It wasn’t very long before I was at my destination.

Inside, Chris had me bend over and commented on how she could visibly see the difference in the two sides of my body. I told her how I could see my spine being pulled to left in the X-rays Dr. H took on Wednesday. She wasn’t surprised. Chris had me move in a few more directions to get a good assessment of where things were at, and then she began to work.

She started out slowly. Gently she moved her hands along the sides of my spine, stopping along the way for a little more attention. After a while Chris was getting in a bit deeper into the muscles. She would ask if it hurt, and I would report back. The truth was, that mostly it felt good. I could feel that what she was doing was having a good effect. We finished up with some stretches and a green light to go running.