Pain in my butt!

So I'm sure I've mentioned before how I have been told by numerous doctors and massage therapists that it looks like I have piriformis syndrome.  Now some of you may not know what the piriformis is, but this picture gives a pretty good idea.  The best way to describe it is a literal "pain in the butt."  Some people feel it other places like in their back, foot, calve or IT band.  The worst part about it is the more I sit the more irritated it feels/gets.  I almost always sit on a racquetball while at work to help remove some of the tension.

So the reason for my rant is because I've been a little depressed over it lately.  Some days are better than others, but I am signed up for CIM in December and I'm starting to lose hope that it will go away.  Now if you have a problem with this these are a few things I've tried that have helped, but not cured the issue... These are stretches recommended by people and websites I've encountered during my time with this injury

 I have rolled and rolled...and rolled, which really helps, and relieves the pain when I sleep at night.  I will even rub my butt against a lacrosse ball (this may be TMI but oh well) to get that oh so awful yet kinda awesome deep painful feeling to release some of the tension on my sciatic nerve and piriformis muscle.





Otherwise, I'm working on putting more strength training and yoga into my routine since as I get closer to triathlons and running events I tend to neglect these important aspects of training.  I love running and I'm stubborn so I refuse to let this injury get the best of me...

Has anyone had any success with improving this condition?  Any other recommendations for care?

Devirginizing my bike

I'm the midget on the far left

I've been away from my blog for a while because I went out of town to watch 2 stages of the tour of cali. (posts with pictures to come soon), but I am excited to report that upon my arrival back my brand new Mondone was ready for a pick-up and fitting! Yay! I was so excited I think I started speeding a little.

Yesterday I took her out for her first ride, up Mt. D with fellow members of the forward motion team.  She rode super smooth and it was easy to feel the 5 pounds I had just dropped.  I pushed it as hard as I could up to the junction and then used the last bit of gas I had to make it to Juniper (2.25 miles past the junction).  She held up great the whole way.

if you ever find yourself wanting to take your bike out on a Tuesday, come on over to the Danville Train Depot and head out with the group, there are people of all abilities!