When the going gets tough, the tough go to a chiropractor?

I am a year and a half into my training...working hard, eating healthy, getting ready for Spring and starting full swing into my marathon training and BAM....I can't stand up. I have had problems in the past with my hips and my knees but never really had a measurable amount of back pain until now. The day before the pain hit I got up in the morning, tried out the Jillian Michael's "No More Trouble Zones" DVD and then hit the treadmill for 5 miles. Shocking, I know, I didn't stretch. The next day I spent hanging around the house cleaning, bend over to pick up a piece of paper I dropped and can't stand back up. What exactly happened?!

After days of pain and not being able to walk, lay or sit, let alone run, lift weights or do cartwheels, my trainer talks me into the Chiropractor. Never having been, not knowing what to expect other than the predetermined notion that he could potentially paralyze me and being at the end of my rope with pain, I sucked it up and went to see what it was all about. Now I am a pretty spiritual person when it comes to the energy of the earth and the power we can tap into within ourselves, however, I am not interested in managing this type of pain with the holistic approach. I was pleasantly surprised to meet someone knowledgeable, charismatic and for lack of a better word, not a quack. He spent a good deal of time talking to me, educating me as so what he actually does and performing a series of tests to better help him diagnose. The entire time I was texting my dear friend Barb.

She is smarter than most people should ever think to be and in her last few months of Physical Therapy school. If there is someone I trust with the health of my back, its her! After much deliberation and evaluation and twenty-some texts later, I agreed to the adjustment to fix my 'rotating pelvis'. Although it sounds like something that could potentially give me Shakira-eque moves and abs to match, it couldn't be farther from that latin delusion. Common in runners, he decides to snap that pelvis back in line. After a couple days of soreness I went back for my follow up adjustment and essentially my official sales pitch. (It took me a couple days to cope with the fact I am a now considered a runner and no longer the obese girl barely capable of touching her toes.)

While I am not ready to commit to a 18 week plan of 3 days a week at $25 a pop, I am interested in continuing my 'treatment', at least throughout the duration of my marathon training. Feeling better and back to body weight strengthening and walking, I was feeling like I still might be able to compete in this thing in 14 weeks. Then, 2 weeks after the initial paperweight injury, it happens again! This time I am bent over in the washer...that will teach me to ever touch laundry again. I should know better than to try and take over Jason's duties.

After my first experience with this pain, I have learned to stand up slowly, gently walk upstairs, take some Advil and gingerly start the stretching process. I can't even think of touching my toes at this point but I get comfortable, pour myself a glass of wine and spend the night nursing my back. I decide to save the whining for later, stretch it out and go to training on Monday morning. I think I have diverted disaster by stopping and taking care of myself when the pain struck.

Still not quite right and afraid to start my running back, I am forced with the decision...go back to the chiro, call the doctor and set up an appointment for weeks from now and lose all this time training or push through the pain and risk hurting myself?

The thought of running 13.1 miles on May 2nd right now is scary but the thought of not being able to reach my goal and even compete in the marathon is terrifying. I have spent so much time envisioning myself crossing that finish line and reaching a brand new goal that I can't imagine abandoning my training now.

With 14 weeks left to train, I am hoping that my back, hips and knees cooperate and I can proudly cross that finish line. I suppose time will tell...