Spring's A Comin' (Hope I'm Ready!)

I must say that the weather this week has been nice. I've been able to do two runs in a row in short sleeves. After what we've been through over the past several weeks, it is a much deserved break and has me really looking forward to spring. Of course spring brings wind, one of my least favorite things to run in, but I guess you have to take the bad with the good.

Speaking of good and bad, I paid a visit to the chiro on Tuesday to have him check me over and see how messed up I was after my encounter with the manhole. I was wondering if some of the deadness I was feeling in my quads was due to my body being out of alignment. The good news is I was in the best shape I've ever been in for a visit with him. I passed all the tests easily without so much as a hint of weakness, and my pelvis wasn't completely in alignment but it wasn't badly out either. I guess maybe that means the core work I've been doing is paying off. The doc did feel some muscle fibers messed up in my right outer quad just above my knee, which is one of the spots I fell on and something that's been bothering me. He did some ART, which was actually extremely painful this time. I was feeling it all the way down into my heel! OUCH!

Anyway, that's the good news. The bad news is I went out to run after my visit and just felt terrible. I don't have anything in the way of what I would call injury related pain or soreness, but my legs are just dead and the effort I'm putting out is not translating into the sort of pace it should be. In other words, I'm running well over 7 min per mile and it feels more like 6 flat. My heart rate is also much more elevated than it should be. That said, I've got to think something is wrong. With no more than I've done over the past couple weeks, I don't think it's over-training, and I've been getting a decent amount of rest, so it shouldn't be general fatigue either. At this point I'm wondering if I'm a touch anemic. I've been anemic before, and I felt very similar then to how I feel now, just unable to make myself go. I remember back then going to the track to run some 400's and putting out a decent effort and going 85 sec - ha, ha.

So, I've started some iron supplementation to see if that helps. I'm also improving my diet, in part due to some research and help from my lovely wife. Hopefully all that will get me back on track (pun intended) soon. What stinks is my desire to run is higher than ever and my legs are about as healthy as they've been in a long time, but I'm too worn down to take advantage of all that. Last night did actually felt much better than the night before, so I'm hoping things are starting to turn around, but I've definitely still got a long way to go.