So, I didn’t make it to Doc Fit last Sunday.  I was afraid of aggravating the ITBS, I was exhausted from work that morning, and quite frankly I was simply too lazy to drive all the way to U.P. for a run that I couldn’t even really race in.  Blah…

I did make it to a gut-wrenching yet satisfying dry needling session last Friday.  It successfully loosened up the ITB and tight quads that were pulling on the kneecap.  But, after a 50-minute run-walk-yawn-run-walk-yawn session on the treadmill on Sunday, the injury reared its ugly head again.  Double blah…

I truly think that negativity yields to more negativity and, at the rate I’m going, I may just look at the mirror one day and see a fat, ugly witch (with ITBS, runner’s knee, shin splints, and plantar fasciitis) staring back at me.  So, I’ve made the following promises to myself:

1. STOP RUNNING. Some of you may be saying “FINALLY!”  But, it really did take me forever (three months of running with injury, to be exact) to accept the fact that rest is really the only answer for me at this point.  
2. STOP THINKING ABOUT THE INJURY. Oh, I can’t even count how many times I’ve browsed through my running journal evaluating my training.  How much time I’ve spent researching ITBS online.  How much effort I put into making my own foam roller (using a PVC pipe and yoga mat).  Or, how many text messages I’ve sent to friends for regular injury updates.  That’s it. I’ll just do my stretches, drills, and hope that things improve from hereon.
3. CUT LESSEN JUNKFOOD. No running leads to weight gain.  Once I stop running, the weight just comes crawling back despite swimming and spinning.  I’m currently at what I call my “injured weight”: the number that pops up on the weighing scale once I decrease my mileage and increase intake of chocnut due to depression.  Hopefully, I have enough self-discipline to cut back on my favorite snacks.  I bid you farewell, Cheetos,  Munchies, and Stick-o!
4. BE HAPPY. For now, I’ll just keep myself busy with family, work, spinning and the elliptical. (Can one truly be happy on the elliptical? Blech!)  Oh well, it’ll be fine.  So, I can’t run.  It’s not the end of the world.  Now, if I don’t get to run on the Skyway in Condura Race, that’s an entirely different story!

My good friend fellow running addict, Pinoy Ultra member, and running shoe expert, Hector Yuzon, will soon be opening the store of his dreams: SECOND WIND RUNNING STORE.

He envisions SECOND WIND to be the complete running store which will provide runners not just with all the equipment they need, but the information to make the right choices, especially regarding shoes. Hector plans to manage the store himself, sharing his knowledge about shoes and guiding the buyer step-by-step (no pun intended).

He also wants this to be the place to hang out in—before or after a run. Wow, sounds like my dream store too. If only there was a branch in the South…hint hint.

OPENING: March 2009
ADDRESS: 88 Maginhawa St., Teachers Village QC
EMAIL: secondwind.proshop@gmail.com

Oh boy, I want to join this!  More info to follow soon…

Should I run or not?  I’m registered for Doc Fit 10k tomorrow and I’m still undecided about showing up.

Let’s see.  Since January, I’ve sought the advice of two of the more popular ortho surgeons, two acupuncturists, and a great PT.  All have advised me to CONTINUE RUNNING, with a matching reassuring look whenever I ask “Are you sure?”  Yes, they’ve said the Runner’s Knee/ITBS problem is a muscle imbalance that will disappear with stretching and strengthening.  In the meantime, they advise me to continuing training especially, as my PT advises, if I want to run well for Condura Half.  (Talk about pressure!)

Then, there is Runner’s World.  If you browse through the articles and forums (which is, uhm, a daily habit for me), almost everyone will tell you to REST if you want to fully recover from ITBS.  I also have a well-informed and super helpful runner friend, Alvin, who is not just a marathoner, but one who did it after recovering from ITBS.  He knows his stuff and he’s been telling me to REST, REST, REST.  He said that over and over even when he caught me running at Bonifacio High Street last Thursday.  (He knew I was on a secret two-week hiatus from running, which I failed because I gave up on the 9th day!)

What to do?!  Why the conflicting tips?!  Times like this, all I can believe in is Dean Karnazes.  He was right in saying: “Listen to everyone.  Follow no one.”

At the end of the day, a runner can only listen to one’s body and decide from there.  So, I shall remain silent for the rest of the day, patiently waiting for my tight thighs and misaligned kneecap to tell me if they want to join Doc Fit tomorrow.  They better decide soon because there are only a few hours left in the day.

See you if I see you!

For the past three months, I have spent huge amounts of time wallowing in frustration, anger, depression and self-pity over this ITBS injury.  For an addicted runner, there’s nothing like a stubborn injury to give you the blues.  

This morning, as I was massaging my tight ITB, my sister calls to deliver the horrible and disturbing news. I learn about Amiel Alcantara, the 4th grader from Ateneo, who passes away after a tragic accident at school yesterday.  I was close to tears over the sudden death of this boy and I could only imagine the anguish that his parents must be going through.  I realized that it could have been my son, or my daughter, or any other parent driving.  And, I realized how everything in life is fleeting, how in the snap of a finger, your life could change in an instant.

Amid all those thoughts and emotions, I receive an SMS from my friend, Jun, asking this: How’s your knee?

My kneecap was still bothersome, but suddenly it didn’t matter at all.   What was level 2 pain (as we like to rate our injuries from 1-10, 10 being hellish) after hearing about the death of a child?  How can one complain about a tight ITB or a slow 5k run last night when there are parents who will never see their child again? 

All I wanted to do at that point was to thank God for my husband and kids, for work, for the cup of coffee I was drinking, for the ability to run, and for life itself.  Injuries are but a speck of dust in the larger scheme of things.