I am not sure I can follow the doctor's orders

Friday, 2/1/13--I had a 6:00 AM appointment with J. Ryan, a 20-something year old talented runner and clinician, at FLASH Physical Therapy.  Yes, 6 AM!  He assessed me pretty extensively and took me through a range of exercises, including tempo-pace treadmill running which he filmed. 

The physical assessment revealed that I do have piriformis syndrome, along with some other issues, including uneven hips. The targeted massage and nerve gliding with a rope were great. In fact, I have these exercises, in addition to ball/foam roller work, on tap for this weekend--twice per day and then some. I found the session enormously helpful. Ryan mentioned that I can continue training but that I should avoid a hard workout this weekend. I am not sure I can follow the doctor's orders.


Even though this session--a generous initial evaluation--was 90 minutes or so, I am not sure I can commit to this weekly. $150 is fairly steep on this end, although I should feel very fortunate that I can kick out the dollars for this. (It's time to see whether health insurance will reimburse me for this, in whole or in part. Now where's the stamp and envelope?)


Thursday, 1/31/13--I made my way to the YMCA at 5:45AM to do a portion of my usual Y routine.  I was feeling a little better after a mega stretch on Wednesday night.  I ran a 7:00 mile on the donut track, stretched for 4 minutes, ran a 6:30 mile on the little oval, used the lat and fly machines for a total of 4 minutes, hopped on the treadmill for another 6:30 mile, used the military press and abduction machines, and then stretched for a minute.  I went home fairly satisfied that I was feeling a little better than the previous couple of days.