Ergonomics and Dogs and more Legos

The human body isn't all that complicated. It has one pretty simple rule: don't be stupid. While it is true that there are millions or arguably billions of subsets of stupid, it is often easy to spot any given version when you see it.

After another marathon building and sorting session last night with my latest obsession, Legos, I managed to put my back out during a dog wrestling session, A.K.A. morning run. A friend of mine brought her dog along to practice today and I decided to give the dog a break from running with her, as she is in the middle of her second trimester. When unfertilized, she is a formidable runner, but her current condition has left her canine companion's training regimen lacking. To her credit, she continues to run even though most people these days seem to think that women should be bed-ridden the moment they find out they are pregnant, so running 6 days a week is a pretty admirable middle finger to all the helicopter-parent mentality floating around out there, which seems to start in utero.

To sum up my issue, last night I spent about 4 hours on my feet in "the shed", read : man cave. Between the bending over and lifting of boxes full of Legos spanning 2 generations I set myself up for a nice fat back spasm. I began the run feeling great after implementing some useful warm-up drills and took the dog out for a nice quick start. About 800 meters in I was wrestling the dog's leash away from its mouth as it was trying to play a game of tug of war at about six minutes per mile pace. After lifting the leash in an upward and unnatural position my whole mid-back spasmed, or went out. I wound up walking it off for about 100 yards then picked up running again and finished the run. I am not sure if continuing helped or hindered my current condition, but I am in all kinds of pain when I do anything besides sit still. I have not taken anything or iced/heated/applied horse liniment.

This experience has taught me:

a. Don't spend four straight hours standing up without posture-pedic shoes

b. If you ignore a., then don't run with a dog that wants to take YOU for a run

Summary:

Venue: Los Gatos, CA

Route: Allison

Distance: Approx: 3 miles

Time: NT

Eat: Bite of a donut and a banana before

Sleep: Not enough, bed by 1 last night, up at around 7. Lack of sleep is catching up

Feelings: Hurt. Back spasm may or may not prevent running tomorrow, but I am going to give it a shot.