Running or Gninnur?

When I got back from Minneapolis I went for a chiro visit…you, know, to put everything back in it’s place….    Anyway, I went for a followup last week because I was having a lot of mid/lower back pain. The chiro noticed my back was a lot tighter than usual…so tight, he couldn’t even “pop” it.  He asked if I had been doing anything “different”, I said not really except that I was taking a “break” from running. He suggested I may want to start jogging/running again because it actually seems to be helping in “loosening” things up and wouldn’t you know it, he may be right, my back doesn’t bother me as much after a run. He said I may be one of those rare people where running actually helps relieve my back pain instead of inducing more pain like it does for most people.

I also had one of those comprehensive fitness assessments done at work where they figure out your BMI, measure your fitness level  along with your strengthe and flexibility, figure out your heart rate thresholds depending on what your goals are, and even figure out your VO2 MAX.  Anyway, the fitness representative happened to be a marathon runner and has run 7 marathons (including Boston) in about the last 2 1/2 years – yes, CRAZY, I know!  Asked for pointers on how to improve my long distance running speed.  Turns out I’ve apparently been running too fast…really?!? Could I get any slower??!! Anyway, apparently I’ve been doing everything backwards. Go figure!