Back spasms of doom

Sunday marked the beginning of my downfall. For the first time in my life, I had back pain.

As the day wore on, my back felt worse. Monday was even worse. Yesterday, I went home in tears. I could barely shuffle to my car. A friend carried my laptop. Then I couldn’t carry it into the house on my own. I had to wait for my husband’s help when he got home.

I visited a chiropractor recommended by my boss, who saw the same doctor for a bad hiop. It helped a bit, but the pain didn’t subside. I went to our family doctor, who adjusted my back and then explained that I was having back spasms.

A back spasm?

Apparently this isn’t just your average Charley Horse. I’ve had it for days. I guess I imagined this would appear and then disappear after massage or even just on its own. But apparently that’s not how it works sometimes. He gave me a muscle relaxor, which released the muscles. I returned to the chiropractor today, and it helped even more.

I’ve been stretching like crazy, taking ibuprofen that my doctor prescribed and icing, icing, icing. My doctor recommended upping my Pilates workouts from weekly to as many as three times a week.

So what does this mean for Sunday?

My goal is to still run. Even if I can’t run the whole way – even if I have to take 100 hours – I’m going to finish this race. I’ve worked too hard to sit out.