Posts Tagged ‘Dr. Wimmer’

It always seems like “next year” is so far away, but then it never really is. When it comes to running, I’ve thought about this year’s Peaks of Otter Christmas Classic nearly every time I’ve gone for a run in Bedford. It’s nearly impossible to not run part of that course.

A year ago this weekend, I sat on the sidelines and watched many friends run the race; it was that day that really set the wheels into motion of coming back from my injury that I still have a hard time shaking from my head.

It was that day I felt like I was more determined than ever to get back to running; it was also the same day I had my initial visit with Wimmer Chiropractic and began developing a strategy with how to run more than a half mile at a time.

Today was a special day as I was able to get to the start line of the Christmas Classic healthy, and with a strong goal — break my course record. I did that today with a Garmin time of 22:54, more than 1:30 better than two years ago.

It was such a great race, despite my nose being stopped up again. I actually ran with a Breathe Right strip to help battle that issue.

Today’s cold air felt great — it was in the upper 30s when it started.After last week’s lesson, I finally got brave enough to not wear a long sleeve shirt under 40 degrees.

I hit the first mile, which was a gradual downhill, in just under 7 minutes. I was very happy to battle the infamous hospital hill in the second mile and hit about 7:45. I wish I had some juice left in the final mile, but with a gradual uphill finish and a course record in the bag, I stayed focused on finishing under 23 minutes.

While the focus of this race was about completing my comeback and ending my racing year strong, I also thought a lot about my grandfather who passed away earlier this year. The loop course was his favorite walking loop, and through the neighborhood my grandparents lived in until this year.

I thought a lot about him today, as I often have on runs by myself this year. With Christmas near, the memories of him wearing a “I told you the Schmidt house!” Santa sweatshirt every year are as clear as ever in my head.

To add to today being a special day, my son also completed another race — a simple quarter mile in which he was able to dust another little kid at the end who veered off course. This was after my son’s shoe fell off and he was complaining of his legs hurting.

Seeing him doing this on his own terms is just awesome. I don’t think he quite “gets it” yet when it comes to races, but I’m sure he will soon enough. And when he does, he’ll quickly break all of my personal records.

For now, it’s all about having fun. Something I’m doing a lot of, too.

Yesterday I posted my interview with my chiropractor, Dr. Wimmer of Wimmer Chiropractic. Today his blog entry is an interview with me. Check it out here where you’ll see a “before” photo of me I haven’t even posted on this site.

Growing up, here’s what I knew about chiropractors: my grandmother regularly went to one and they had crazy signs in front of their offices that never enticed me to learn more. Then about a year ago when my wife kept complaining about her back, and I got tired of telling her to see a doctor, I saw a tweet from a local chiropractor about getting a complimentary exam. All that was needed was to bring in a coupon from Twitter or Facebook.

Fast forward a couple of months and my wife was doing better, I was saying “I told you so” … and next thing you know I’m getting treatment after my “injury” (I really thought I’d use “result” more after this post) in the fall. So, here’s what I know now: the spine controls everything in your body; chiropractic care just isn’t for back pain; and those signs in front of offices? This guy doesn’t have any, and he’s a normal family guy.

I’ve mentioned a few times on my blog about going to see Dr. David Wimmer in Forest, Va. Dr. Wimmer has been a chiropractor for seven years after graduating from Logan College of Chiropractic in 2004; he doesn’t wear a lab coat around the office; and … did I mention he doesn’t put crazy signs outside his office? Last week Dr. Wimmer and I sat down for a video Q&A to talk about chiropractic treatment and why it’s good for athletes and runners to see a chiropractor. Here you go.

For more information on Dr. Wimmer, check out his website, his blog (where you’ll soon see a Q&A with me), follow him on Twitter and “like” him on Facebook.

I’ve hinted here and there about some things going on since late fall to get me back to good running, but I have admittedly not been very detailed. I think it’s a fear that if I backtrack in the process that I seriously jinxed myself by talking about it.

Well enough of that. I think it’s important to be a little more upfront about things that I’ve been doing to help me “come back.” If I ever go down this path again, I need it for my own sake, but I also hope others can learn from this.

• I mentioned a long time ago about going to a chiropractor for treatments. I feel this is by far the No. 1 reason I’ve been able to get back to running. Dr. David Wimmer of Wimmer Chiropractic in Forest, Va., has been great. When we first started adjustments of my pelvis and spine back in December he was straight-up honest with me in that if I didn’t get back to running soon that he’d recommend other options. Within a month I was able to get back to 2 miles comfortably and the rest … well, the history is being written now. I’ll be doing a video Q&A with Dr. Wimmer sometime this month to talk about my treatments even more. In the meantime, feel free to “like” him on Facebook and check out his blog here.
• I’ve been very good about getting core workouts in a couple of times a week. I know I can do more, but exceeding my max plank goal last month and aiming for 50 consecutive push-ups this month is how I will continue to commit to the core. As I prepare for another marathon later this year, I know that having a strong core will be one of the main reasons of getting to the start (and finish) line healthy.
• I ditched the foam roller, sort of. This may have come up on here, and I know I’ve vocalized it on Twitter, but the foam roller isn’t for me. I may use it from time to time to make sure I don’t have some crazy knots, or to give myself a back massage, but it was not an effective treatment for me. I have a few stretches that are working well for me right now that I will continue to do.
• I am continuing to work on my cadence. One foot last week was right about 90 strikes. In Saturday’s race, I caught myself a few times slipping into my “old” way of running, which I find very uncomfortable despite my brain sometimes wanting to run that way.
• I am avoiding just going out the door and starting my run. I try to walk at least a quarter mile before I start my run and try to end it with a walk of about the same distance. I think too many times last year I just went out the door and ran, and then just finished up directly outside myself and came inside to log my workout on Daily Mile. I believe that my body is thanking me by doing a warm-up and cool down.
• As much as I hated to cut back on this, I run less with my dog Duke. As spring rolls along I may change this, but I realized after it was too late how much my dog pulled me to the left … which is the side of my injury. I believe that my running form is much to blame for my injury, but Duke contributed to it.

There are so many lessons learned here, and so many things I probably should have been talking about all along. What’s done is done, though, and all I can do is keep moving forward with all these things etched in my brain.

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It’s that time of year in which bulleted blog posts are becoming the norm. There’s a wide variety of things on my mind with nothing really dominating. I was tempted to leave my 1,000-mile journey post as the last post of the year, but then people would get all worried about me. I don’t need any strangers knocking on my door right now. So, here’s a variety hour, blog post no. 594 since April 2007.

* My chiropractor appointments are going well. The leg stretches have proven to me that I’m no longer very flexible. I’m not sure that I ever was. It’s been a wake-up call that I should do some sort of stretching though, no matter what some people say. I’m not getting in the “to stretch or not to stretch” debate. Different things work for different people. I won’t stretch a cold muscle … and that’s all I’m saying about that.

* As a result of resting and getting my body fixed, I think that I can run again soon. Not that I’ve fully stopped, but less than 10 miles in 5-plus weeks isn’t really running. I ran 1.2 pain-free miles yesterday. All at once. It’s the first time since the marathon running more than a mile non-stop (I think). My hope is to give myself a Christmas gift this week and run 2 miles non-stop. We’ll see. No promises.

* Speaking of not really running, but still running, I’ve had ZERO 0.0-mile weeks this year. While I don’t like all these very low single digit weeks, this is another nice accomplishment to this awesome year, assuming I keep the streak alive in these final two weeks of the year. If I could give 2010 a theme, I would call it The Year of the Streaks.

* There are 89 days until the Shamrock Half Marathon. It’s either going to be Shamrock No. 5 in a row in the best shape ever or not at all. I’m not going to half-ass it or risk injury. If I can’t run regularly again soon, I’m not going to push it. But if I can run soon — at least getting to double digits comfortably in a week by mid-January — you better believe I’ll go for a PR again.

* So this getting to the 170s by the end of the year thing … let’s just say I’ve maintained, and I’m very happy for that. With very little running, combined with a cold from hell in the past two weeks, I can’t do everything I want to do physically. Maintaining in the first three weeks is a win for me. I’m not giving up hope on it though, but I’m also not going to work my way to a sickness that lasts even longer.

Here's Nermal a couple of months ago, lounging out in a kiddie pool.

* Lastly, on a sad non-running note, “my” cat died this weekend. Nermal — yes, after Garfield’s cousin (except my Nermal was a boy) — was 15 years old this month. He was a classic fat cat — probably about 25 pounds. He was as mean as a pissed off snake through much of his life. I use the term “my” because when I was a senior in high school, I just had to have him. But through college and a couple of apartments that didn’t allow pets, Nermal stayed with my mom and stepdad his whole life. Ironically enough — and perhaps very fittingly — he died by his food dish Sunday, probably on his way to some food.

While he was mean, he’ll be missed. Nermal’s death caps the year of animal deaths in my family — my aunt and uncle’s dog died this fall, as did one of my sister’s dogs. It makes me very appreciative that Duke is in such great health right now and to do whatever I can to make sure he’s around for as long as he can be.

* I quietly announced in a few places that I hit running mile 1,000 for the year on Saturday. I’m working on a blog post about my 1,000-mile journey, but it started sinking in how much it means to me. It’s one of the biggest goals I’ve ever had, so it’s taking me a while to put together the highlights of this quadruple digit milestone. For now, though, running is over.

* So a few people did read last week’s “Dear Santa” post and just a few days later I was hooked up with P90X. I don’t have any intention of doing the entire program, but instead use it as a supplement to running. True cross training. For now, since I can’t really run, I’m giving myself a slow introduction to the program. All I have to say after two DVDs … two partial DVDs … is WOW.

My arms were sore for almost three days after the first disk, and I just finished up the Plyometrics disk. Who knows how I’ll feel tomorrow, but it’s very nice to do a full lower body workout with my knee not bothering me at all.

* Speaking of knee issues, I’ve had a couple of visits with the chiropractor and things seem to be going well. (I was supposed to have appointment No. 3 today, but my SUV wouldn’t start after work. Ugh.) I probably won’t blog about it too much. Honestly, I have to see how it all goes. I’m confident that getting things lined up will go a long way in making 2011 a great year. For now, I just have to wait.

* Speaking of 2011, I announced on Twitter today I wouldn’t be running a marathon next year. It’s certainly not a big deal, and I’m not sure why I tweeted it, but it’s just something I don’t want to do. I won’t say “never again,” but it’ll be a while before the urge hits again. I want to stick to half marathons, but I want my first focus to run pain free again.

* And speaking of Twitter, #runchat was awesome last night. If you haven’t joined in the conversations yet, please join us for the next one Dec. 26. As a reminder, #runchat is the second and fourth Sundays of every month.