I used to be a runner…

Running is the easiest form of cardiovascular activity that I know of – all you have to do is strap on a pair of shoes and walk out the door!  If you are running outside there are so many other great possible aspects – fresh air, sunshine, cleansing rain, different terrains, slopes and hills, friendly neighbors, exploring a new place while traveling, wildlife, the list goes on!  I’ve always run in the morning, so I was able to feel the fresh and cool morning air and usually catch a bit of the sunrise.  I’ve also loved to run when on vacation, because I was able to explore a new place on foot and I would see so much more than if I was in a car.  You’re not limited by roads – you can go through parks, cross through fields, run on trails in the mountains or by the creek and have the rushing water be your background music.  As you can tell, I LOVED running!

But my body did not.  I hated running when I first started.   It was my way to eat whatever I wanted but hopefully still lose weight.  Every time my foot hit the ground my whole body shuttered, I was constantly fighting exercise induced asthma and my lungs burned like there was a cold blue fire engulfing my chest.  This is most likely the experience of most people as they start a new cardiovascular exercise program, so I pushed through the aches, pains, blisters and soreness and within a few months I was really starting to enjoy and actually look forward to my runs.  Getting out in the fresh air and sunshine always made me feel better, no matter what mood I was in!

It turns out that my original reason for starting to run didn’t really work out the way I had hoped.  Once I started running, my appetite got even bigger and therefore, I did not experience any weight-loss despite my efforts to run at least 10-15 miles a week.  So I was increasing my mileage on an already overweight body and feeding my body with too much processed food and alcohol (I was in college!).  The injuries started to occur…I developed severe plantar fasciitis 3 times, patellofemoral syndrome (AKA runner’s knee) which never completely resolved despite doing all of my PT exercises and wearing custom orthotics, my digestion seemed to be getting worse (especially after a longer run) and my whole body felt constantly inflamed.  I finally had the realization that no amount of running was going to improve my diet – I started Weight Watchers and lost 40 pounds in about 8 months.   This took a big load off of my body and I started running longer distances, completing 5Ks, 10Ks and a couple 1/2 marathons.  Throughout all of this though, I was constantly fighting knee pain, the digestive issues and the constant feeling of inflammation.  But I was a runner!  I loved the feeling that I got when I was surrounded by a crowd of other runners during a race and I loved being part of the club.  Also, once again, running is so EASY!  I just needed my shoes and I could get my workout in no matter where I was in the world.  I figured that all runners must feel like me and it’s just a feeling that comes along with the territory – you get the high of the endorphins, but also the lows of the muscle recovery, pain and soreness.

Once I was in my early 30s, I decided that I not only wanted to clean up my diet, but I wanted to clean up every other aspect of what I was putting into my body.  I was still fighting digestive issues, a constant feeling of pressure and cloudiness in my head, and I was starting to deal with constant fatigue.  I decided to stop taking the birth control pills that I had been on for 14 years, as I figured that these symptoms could have been related to my hormones.  Well…I ended up not having a period for 2 1/2 years after this.  My doctor diagnosed me as being peri-menopausal at 30 years old and I had every symptom to go with it – the night sweats and hot flashes were the worst!  I had never really wanted children, but I always thought that I at least had the option.  Now I had no option and it really scared me!  After the 2 1/2 years of seeing different specialists and continuing to hear that all of my bloodwork checked out just fine and that they couldn’t find any reason for the peri-menopause, I started scouring the internet.  I found a book called The Hormone Cure, by Sara Gottfried.  It described many of the symptoms that I had encountered over the last few years, and actually, pretty much since I hit puberty.  I made a bunch of lifestyle changes based on the book’s suggestions and what felt right to me – I eliminated caffeine, gluten, dairy, cut way down on processed foods, and limited my alcohol to red wine only.  Many of my symptoms felt way better – the fogginess in my head was gone, the constant mild nausea stopped, my IBS symptoms drastically decreased, and I had somewhat improved energy.  After a few months of these changes, I was hopeful that my continued fatigue and lack of a menstrual cycle would continue to improve.  NOPE.  I was still sore, achy, fatigued and no changes at all with my peri-menopausal self.  I was desperate at this point – I just couldn’t stand the thought of being in menopause at 33 years old, and my biological clock had started ticking.  The last suggestion in the book that I had not heeded because of my need for an easy-to-complete, high-intensity cardio workout, was to STOP RUNNING.  I don’t think that it actually said to stop running, but I think that it said to only complete gentle workouts like walking and yoga.  OMG…walking and yoga???  I thought that I would go crazy and that I would gain a ton of weight.  Ever since losing 40 pounds, I had a constant fear that I would regain the weight and couldn’t fathom how I was going to maintain my weight with just walking and yoga.

Walking and yoga…how boring…but wait a second, this yoga thing was actually really awesome.  I felt amazing afterwards!  I hadn’t realized how tight I had let myself become and adding more stretching, balance and poses in more “lengthened” muscular positions felt like exactly what my body needed.  At first I only did the “power yoga” as I still thought that I needed that cardiovascular aspect and I was still terrified of gaining weight.  Savasana, the yoga pose at the end where you just lay on your back for minutes at a time, was pure torture.  How was I supposed to just lay there when I had things to do, people to see, and needed to keep my heart rate up!  After a few months, I started to crave savasana – it felt amazing to let my body just sink down into the floor and feel all of my muscles relaxing – it actually felt like they were thanking me.

The walking was even more difficult for me to grasp – it took twice as long to go the same distance as when I was running, and it was sooooooooo boring!  I had to think back to my travels to Europe and remember how good it felt to walk everywhere and how all of the Europeans seemed to stay in such good shape because they walked most places instead of driving.  This was my incentive – my “European walking program.”  I told myself that if it kept them in shape and they could eat such delicious foods, that it would keep me in shape.

Within 2 months of stopping my running program, my menstrual cycles returned.  They were sporadic at first, but over the next year they started to become regular again.  I had never felt so good in my own body – the fatigue was gone, the feeling of constant inflammation was gone and my digestion had definitely improved.  My body no longer had aches and pains and I felt like I was moving more fluidly.  My flexibility started to improve much faster than when I was running and I was really starting to enjoy my walks.  I could really observe more around me because I wasn’t fighting to catch my breath or focused on my distance.  I started listening to podcasts, which were very helpful with building my business and were very motivating.  Lastly, after years of no ovulation cycle, I became pregnant!

Unfortunately, the pregnancy story wasn’t that easy.  Because of my major hormone imbalances, I ended up becoming pregnant multiple times over the next few years and miscarrying every time.  It wasn’t until I found some amazing midwives that realized that I just needed a little boost in my progesterone that I was able to maintain a pregnancy and this last August, we welcomed our amazing daughter, Emma.  You can look back at my previous posts to read more about my pregnancy, but I will tell you that walking was the best thing that I did while pregnant.  I walked 3-4 miles a day throughout my entire pregnancy, something that would have been quite difficult if I was still running and would have most likely caused me much more pain.  I had no pain while pregnant, I was able to manage my weight easily (I only gained 18.5 pounds) and after having Emma, I lost 33 pounds!  Now, I’m guessing that much of that is due to breast-feeding, as they say that you burn an extra 500 calories a day, but I was also able to restart my walking program within a week after having Emma.  It was amazing to get to be outside, enjoy watching my new baby in the stroller and get some movement into my day.  Walking has changed my life!

So, the moral of the story is….not everyone is meant to be a runner.  Don’t beat yourself up (literally) if you think that the only way to stay in shape or to lose weight is to run.  Some people are built for running – they seem to do it almost effortlessly, their body thrives on it and they don’t seem to develop many injuries.  Every body is different though, and if you’re like me, you might not be born to run.  My advice is to listen to your body and do what feels good.  Don’t get frustrated if conventional western medicine does not provide you with answers – keep searching until you find what works for your body.

There is only one you, so find someone that will evaluate and treat with an open mind and a listening ear.  That is what we strive to do at Solstice Physical Therapy and it is our main mission – we listen and think outside of the box and we encourage feedback from our patients to help us put together their individual puzzle.  It can’t all be fixed by physical therapy, but we will do our best with the techniques that we have and will refer to other amazing practitioners to ensure that our patients get the best care possible!

Written by Lisa Wilcox, PT, DPT

**This is not to be considered medical advice, please contact a physical therapist or other healthcare professional for more information.  All content on lisawilcoxpt.com is created for informational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice, treatment or diagnosis.