Change of Plans, and with Good Reason

I went to CPMC's Running Clinic yesterday and had my gait and physiology analyzed. It was an absolutely fascinating experience, and I'm going to report on it in detail on HellaSound.com. But, as a quick takeaway, I learned that my hips—not unlike our German Shepherd friend here—are perilously weak.

Halima, the running guru mastermind at the CPMC program, ran me through a variety of tests and examinations, and pointed out a true weakness in my hip muscles (and a potential skeletal issue with my right hip joint). I've been given a list of things to work on and have been instructed to cut down my miles. For now.

Soooo, that means my plans to start the Cool Running 12 Week 10k Training Program, which would have started next week, have been temporarily put on hold.

Basically, until I get my hip flexibility and strength up, I'll be running and lifting three times a week and swimming on off days. That's cool, because I've been meaning to start swimming again, and I'm looking forward to checking out the pool at the local gym. Hopefully it's not full of hair and bandaids, like the 24 Hour Fitness pool in San Diego (I wish I were kidding).

I'll be updating the calendar to reflect my new plan.

Man oh man what an amazing experience it was to be examined and talk about it with Halima. She really knew her stuff, and it was incredibly eye opening. Seriously folks, for about the cost of a new pair of running shoes you can get invaluable information that could affect your entire running (and otherwise) life. I strongly, strongly recommend it.

I'll be going back in a month for a follow-up exam and to talk about my progress. Here's to it!

Image courteys WikiPedia and Photoshop.