Pain in the Ass

Okay, so the title should warn you that this may not be the most lady-like of posts, but hell, if you are reading this blog, chances are good you aren't expecting that of me anyway.

So, as you may or may not know, Molly and I have been training for the New York Marathon, which is coming up in just 2 weeks so the excitement is building. There have been many ups and downs to the training. Many a long run spent wondering why I ever thought this was a good idea, only to feel confident and psyched afterwards, even as I was suffering through the pain of icing down my feet. At least the new shoes, see earlier post, have solved that particular problem. I am a real wimp when it comes to icing. Can't explain it, but it is true. I hated icing my shin splints when I was a hurdler, which probably also explains why I had such trouble managing them. But I suffered through icing my feet because I am just that dedicated to this marathon.

I ran 18 miles through 95+ heat and during the dreaded red tide and its attendant respiratory problems. I ran through a massive rain storm in San Antonio that, according to the people organizing the run, threatened to wash the slow, stupid girl away (that was me). Apparently they were concerned I was too dumb to realize I shouldn't run across a flash flood and too slow to escape one. Molly made it back from that run. They insisted on picking me up before I could finish. But I must admit that it was none of those experiences that threatened to pull me out of my marathon dream; it was the pain in my ass, and I mean that quite literally. During my last really long run, I had to stop at 19 miles because the pain in my ass had spread down into my back thigh, as it is prone to do and was so bad I was afraid I was doing injury to myself. As my father came out to drive me the 1.5 miles home, I tried to tell myself that I was just being smart, but there is something shameful about being brought down by your bum.

I was worried enough, and desperate enough, to actually go to a doctor who told me I have Piriformis Syndrome. Huh? Turns out the sciatic nerve travels under the piriformis muscle in your hip/butt region and if the muscle gets too tight and/or inflamed, it aggravates the sciatic nerve. Thus, my ass pain, and my leg pain. The cure: anti-inflammatories, physical therapy, and lots and lots of stretching. I'm feeling better, although still working my way towards 100%, but the marathon is still on the agenda and my 10 mile run this weekend felt great so me and my ass are feeling fine.

Now if only someone could figure out a treatment for my other pains in the ass, namely those so-called superiors at work, and today, the children themselves, who seem to have gone crazy with the weather change.