If it’s not one thing, it’s another, really. My lungs are finally recovered to the point where running feels good again. I did an 8K on Sunday and I felt energized at the end of it. No huffing and puffing. It was great… except for my lower back. I’ve had this issue for a couple years now, and it’s been one of the reasons that I always quit after a few months. I started seeing a sports masseuse earlier this year in an attempt to fix it. That made the problem bearable, but no matter what we did, it didn’t seem to right it completely. In fact, in the past week or so it’s progressed to the point where I’m feeling pain even when I’m not running. So this morning, it was off to a proper physiotherapist. I saw Michael at the Sports Clinic at Sydney Uni, and it turns out he’s an expert at this type of thing. He confirmed the diagnosis that my pelvis was pretty far out of alignment. (Like, centimeters out.) This biomechanical issue is the source of just about all my running complaints: back pain, tight hips, pinched sciatic nerve, tight hamstrings, hunched gait, etc. So he set about putting things back in place. There was much pulling-of-legs and manipulating-of-joints, and it all ended with a lovely session under a heating pad. I noticed some immediate changes: I could touch my toes without pain, and my hamstrings were able to stretch a lot farther. Michael gave me some stretches to do at home, and he’s restricted me to shorter runs for the next few days. He says that normally I’ll regress a third of the way back, so I’m seeing him on Monday for further correction. I can’t wait to see if this gives me a breakthrough in my speed and performance!