15 Kilometers

Had a nice little race today. We kept it at an easy 8 minute per mile pace to run the 15k in 1 hour 19 minutes. I felt pretty good. I knew I'd be a little off, this being my first long run in 2 weeks, after my Achilles injury and jaw surgery. It was also a trial run of some new things I'm doing.

Last week I went to a different physiotherapist, who is a little more like a chiropractor. He did some measurements and it seems that my left leg is 8 millimeters shorter than my right. So I have 3 little issues that add up - over many miles- to lower back pain and left calf pain. To remedy this, I have to do strengthening exercises for my lower abs, deep stretches into my buttocks, fully concentrate on keeping good posture with zipped abs, and adding a little height to my left side.

Now, the posture thing is not as easy as it may seem. I have stood with a sway back for as long as I can remember. And in past times, when trying to have good posture, I've ended up by overcompensating and making my back worse. But the key is adding those missing millimeters to my left leg. I put a 5 millimeter lift into my left shoe, under my orthodic, and low and behold, I am way more balanced. It's like magic.

So today I focused on keeping my abs in tight for the whole run. Definitely noticed that I'd lose them as I got tired and had to consciously refocus. The day was beautiful. I was a little over dressed for what started as a cool windy day turned into bright and sunny. And it's pretty amazing how being hot can sap you of energy. But no matter. It was a great training run with my teammates and I'm feeling ready for my 1/2 marathon next weekend.