Breaking it Down

So on Monday I got the all clear from Peter, my chiro.  By all clear, I mean that I don't need to go back to see him again unless things start to flare up again.  He said my hip is a lot better and my IT bands were in really good shape.  I can thank my massage therapist for that.  He KILLED me last Thursday.  But it was exactly what I needed.

So with all of this good stuff, you'd think that my knees would have stopped hurting right?

They haven't.  I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating this is.  I went for a run on Tuesday night with my run club and the first 2-3 minutes of my run was pretty darn uncomfortable.  Once I got going, I was much better.  I don't have any knee pain going up or down stairs anymore so that's a plus.  I'm usually ok on the bike depending on the intensity of the ride.  It's the run that's the bigger issue and it just seems to be those first few steps when I'm running.  I'm beginning to think I'm doing something weird with my feet / legs because I'm anticipating the pain. 

I'm managing things with ice and lots of foam rolling and stretching.  I even took an Aleve last night, which I never do.  Anti-inflammatories do not sit well with me.  I find they knock me sideways and upset my stomach a bit so I try not to take them.  Obviously I can't continue doing this for the rest of my athletic career so steps need to be taken.

There are clearly issues happening when I run, and potentially when I'm lifting as well as riding.  My chiro says it's weak glutes and he's given me exercises to do.  That could very well be the case.  It could also be that my glutes aren't firing at all.  So, on Monday I'm heading to Pivot to see Babs Aiyede for a gait analysis.   I have to bring a few pairs of shoes (not my entire collection, haha) and wear snug fitting clothing.  No he's not a perv.  He has to be able to see what my upper body, hips AND legs are doing when I'm running.   So we're going to break down my running gait and see what's going on.  From this, I think he should be able to determine if in fact, I have a lazy ass.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue doing what I love to do: swim, bike, run.