Week Four-- Nebraska and Acupuncture

Wk	Dat	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
4	7/5 7/11	Easy Run Dist: 5 mi @10:20	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 5 mi @10:20	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 5 mi @10:20	Rest / XT	15 miles

I tend to not know where I'm at these days. We returned home from Kansas on Monday the 5th (after running another five miles in western Kansas), were home Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and headed out for the ever popular vacation destination of Nebraska City, Nebraska for a family reunion. The travel + training combination is not ideal for me, but the worst is over.

Running on Wednesday couldn't happen due to scheduling, so trainer PJ sent us out to run the hill behind the YMCA after a 30+ minute weight training session on Tuesday. I think we ran somewhere between two and three miles. It was insanely humid and it SUCKED.

Wednesday was rest, and I went to a cycle class on Thursday because I knew Friday was going to be uber sluggish with the long car ride.

Saturday we ran 10 in Nebraska (the picture above was taken in a state park we ran through). Upon arriving, I discovered that I had left Gwen (our Garmin) in Minnesota. Groan!! We were luckily able to download an app for our cell phone which tracked time and distance. It wasn't ideal, but it worked.

Now time for true confessions. My previously injured leg had been giving me a little grief. Nothing I couldn't manage, but something was not feeling 100%. I was pretty much in denial about the whole thing; yet really feeling the running horizon was looking a little bleak.

A few weeks ago an acupuncturist (sp??) came to talk to the running group at the Y. Figuring I had nothing to lose other than some cash (and even that's minimal thanks to the good ol' Health Savings Account), I made an appointment.

On Thursday I had a fairly long assessment with him and got some pins stuck in my legs, hands, and head. After giving western medicine its shot at this injury last summer, I really was not expecting much. And, I still don't understand why becoming a human pin cushion can really do anything, but when I ran on Saturday, I felt SIGNIFICANT improvement. Just craziness. Then, on Monday, I went out for a six miler and ran at 8:33 min/mile pace. It was kinda like the run of my life. I don't know if the acupuncture accounts for the quickened pace, but man, it feels good to feel good. I think I may actually be able to get this damn leg out of my consciousness... for the first time in a long time. I went for another session today and can't wait to see how this evening's sprints and hills feel. As of right now, I am a believer.