Ups, Downs, Injuries and Introspections

It's been a tumultuous season for me. I'm starting to think that spring is just a bad season for me. I tend to be injured every year around this time. Maybe that's my body's way of trying to say something like "woman you are getting old". Just kidding. I don't feel old. I feel good and just need to deal with these injuries as they arise, accept the downtime and stay positive.

Yesterday I went to Solon Wellness Center to see Dr. Keyes' associate as recommended by Coach Sean. Talk about pain! The doctor did some serious work on my left foot, which has been aggravated for almost three weeks now. Think foam roller x 10. Deeply pushing with fingers and thumbs along my foot tendons and ligaments and along the shin and calves. Ouch! There were quite a few people around so I didn't want to scream or cry but I was close a few times and settled for biting on my shirt. I guess this is called Active Release Therapy (ART) and the doctor says within 3-4 sessions I should be better.

What does this mean with all my races approaching - including tomorrow's duathlon? It means I will be testing the foot out this evening on a run. First attempted run in almost a week. Doc says to take some ibuprofen in advance. I plan to do this easily. No fast running to relieve this bottled up stress but slow and steady just to see if the foot will hold up tomorrow. The race is not too long. It's a 2.5 mile run, 10 mile bike and 2.5 mile run. I am most concerned about run #2. So I will decide this evening if I am participating in the race or spectating and cheering for my husband and friends that will be racing.

As for Cleveland, which was originally to be a full marathon and changed to the half marathon, I have to wait and see. I have a second Dr. appointment with ART scheduled for next Thursday with a test run that night or following day to see how the foot is coming along. Running 13 miles with an injury can be rough and just sounds like a sufferfest to me. I certainly don't feel ready to set a new PR to say the least. My husband is very supportive and says if I am able to run he will run it with me for fun as a training run. That actually sounds like it could be a fun little adventure if my foot behaves. Otherwise I have some options: 1) switch to 10K, which would be easier on the foot 2) run some and or walk the half and 3) spectate AGAIN this year as I did last year with the fracture.

I have done a lot of thinking this season about who I am as an athlete, what I want, where I am right now and where I want to be in the years to come. So maybe this setback was needed for me to dig deeply into myself and consider these things. Being type A, I have this natural tendency to be competitive with myself as well as others. Many athletes have this attribute. In some ways it is good because it is a driver for continuous improvement and accomplishment. In other ways it is destructive because we hold ourselves to such high standards, sometimes lose the joy of the sport or push ourselves too hard. And let's face it, there is almost always someone that is faster than we are or else better suited to some particular race.

Let me get to the point here. I am at my best when I am sprinting. Some people hate 5Ks. I love them. I also love distance but I am not as fast at long races and my body tends to decline after a certain point - generally anything over the half distance. So I am considering all of this for next season already. I set a goal this year to complete my first full ironman distance race. And I am not backing out of that goal. It may be difficult, painful and a pain in the ass to meet that goal but I will do it. And I will enjoy doing a couple of 70.3 races, olympic and sprint triathlons and other races too. Even if I am not as fast at the long course triathlons I will enjoy the experiences and it will make me tougher mentally and physically. The picture I shared here is an Asian symbol for strength and I absolutely love the quote. It very much describes the mindset that an endurance athlete or aspiring endurance athlete must have to be successful.

Cross-train Workouts for Increased Results & Better Health

Human beings are creatures of habit. We thrive on routine. We find something we like such as running, cycling, swimming or yoga and we stick with it.  For a number of years all I did was run. I ran 5-7 days a week and did nothing else. I was frequently injured and never really sculpted my abs or arms. Sure I was skinny but was I healthy? Probably not.

Today I still run more than anything but I train for multi-sport events and also make sure to integrate core workouts including vinyassa yoga, pilates, kettlebell and weights into my weekly routine.  When life gets crazy I can always squeeze in a quick 30-60 min core workout at home or a quick run.  So can you.  Since I have become a multi-sport athlete I have noticed a couple of things improve. First, I am injured far less than when I was running alone. Second, my body composition has changed such that I have more muscle mass and definition. And lastly, I just feel better. I don't have the burn-out that I used to feel with focusing on running alone.

I encourage you to cross-train to enjoy the same benefits I have realized. I promise you will not lose effectiveness at your sport of choice but rather increase your overall fitness level and sport of choice as well! You can start this week by adding one different work-out to your routine. Do that once a week and you'll be on your way to a better, healthier you!

Flexible Training

No matter what kind of event or goal you're training for, it is important to remain flexible. Not every run or workout goes as planned. A number of things can have an impact on your plans: weather, work, unexpected conflicts or most importantly your own body's alarm! Sometimes you get out there and just feel like something is off. That's okay. We all have these days. Learning to accept them for what they are and moving on is important to our well-being.

Case in point, this evening I went trail running at West Branch (mountain bike trails) with my best friend Chrissy and her awesome dog Dash. We had a great night but our workout didn't go quite as we had planned. Both of us had some aches and pains, Dash was more wild than usual and we ended up cutting our run a little short because of it. I had already done 16 miles on my road bike this morning as well as 30 minutes of core so I figured a 5k trail run was enough. It was. We listened to our bodies, which is an important thing for endurance athletes. Not listening can lead to overtraining and ultimately injuries, which none of us wants to deal with.

So if you have an off day in your training, just accept it as that and you'll be back to good in a day or two or else soon. Listen to your body's inner alarm and don't push yourself to the point of injury. Being flexible in your training may help you to avoid injuries and burn-out.