Painkillers and magic sprays/gels

I developed a backache yesterday afternoon (thankfully it had nothing to do with running), while doing some cleaning and rearrangement at home. This is the second time I have had this backache, the first was when I was trying to lift a box which was about 20kgs plus. On both occasions it was the technique which was faulty and not the work or weight. Yesterday, I kept my legs straight and bent from my waist while doing work and rearranging things, instead of bending my knees and doing it.

I usually try to avoid using painkillers and magic spray as they don't really cure much and give one false sense of relief. Its especially dangerous to use these when one is training, as they tend to hide pain/injury and one tends to push the body, when it actually needs rest. So I rested the whole of Saturday, with little bit of stretching and then waited till Sunday morning to decide on my ability to undertake the run (had it been a running related injury, I would have taken an additional day of rest). I also believe that one should not take any painkillers/sprays during a race or before a race as a precautionary measure (it somehow feels like cheating). The only time I have ever used sprays was during my first Ultra, not sure if they were very useful as they provide only temporary relief & when it wears off, the pain/cramp/injury becomes unmanageable.

Eventful week..

Its been a week with a lot of ups and downs and so I am not sure what is in store for me tomorrow.

I had a dreadful run on Tuesday, I managed only 5km. I had a delayed start (I need to get to work in time to complete my shower, etc well before 9am), then had to come back home after the first 100meters as I forgot to take my handphone and then after the first kilometer of my run, things were just not feeling right, calves and outer part of the shins were feeling stiff and it started to get worse as I continued to run. Then I realised that the problem occurred because the previous day I decided to sprint in the evening for some 100 meters with my work shoes, as I was getting late to get somewhere. Moral of the story, an endurance runner can neither sprint nor walk, he can only run!

So I decided to rest my legs for a couple of days and skipped the planned run on Thursday. I decided to make up for by running on Friday and Saturday. Both these runs went off quite smoothly and the Tuesday nightmare was over. I am managed a comfortable 11km on both the days.

I only wish things ended there. I was in for some more surprises. I decided to do some good deads for the day on Saturday, which included cleaning and remodeling of my living space. So I ended up abusing my back, by putting it through some intense activity, without any warm up or without taking proper care. So I am now down with a sore back. The only thing felt for me to do is to take as much care as possible and hope that things get back to normal by tomorrow morning.