Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Yes, March. This was one of the first truly Spring days of the year. Skies were blue, the sun was high and temperatures were slightly over 20C. It was the middle of the March Break and I was very excited about my long run (30K) that I had planned to do in the afternoon.

It has taken me almost 4 months to put my thoughts about this day into text. I had an outline of what I wanted to share and had started drafts many times, but I had also pressed “delete” just as many. I didn’t like the direction my ideas kept gravitating towards; I needed more of a purpose in telling my story, not just a recount of how I ended up injured. Over the past 16 weeks, I kept going back to my original outline and typed and deleted words and phrases again and again and again. This week, finally, I found the focal point that I needed.

When I headed out for my 30K run, I was cautious that winter was still on our heels and I wasn’t acclimatized to the heat yet. So I planned to run at a conservative pace and pass a rec centre every 5km so that I could use the water fountain. Midway, I was feeling great and in one of my favorite areas to run. It has a hilly loop, about a kilometre long, that I love and ran one, two, three repeats. At the end of the last one, which finished on a downhill section, I started to turn left to work my way back home. Partway through that turn, though, as my left foot landed on the ground, I felt a bizarre vibration that started in my lower thigh and rose up into the TFL and ended with a “ping!” “That’s not good” was my immediate thought, literally the tiniest fraction of a second after I felt it. Then, I felt the crash of two cymbals in my lower back; the rattle forced me to a full stop as I verbalized “What the —–?” It was all over by the time my right foot landed.

“What did I just do to myself?” I felt a sense of panic. How will I get home? Did I break something? Can I run? As I realized that things were okay, I started to walk – fine. I jumped on my right foot – fine. I jumped on my left foot – also fine. “What the actual —-? Maybe I can run home.” I gingerly started to jog up the hill going west – and as things returned to more “normal”, I gradually returned to my typical long run pace. I did make it home – tired but feeling fine. “So weird.”

The next day was pretty much a typical training day with a 50km ride in the morning and a 2K swim at night. I was perplexed by the symphonic chorus that my legs and back created during the previous day’s run and decided that I had to prioritize an easy run on the following day – just to make sure that everything truly was okay.

On Friday, I headed out for a slow jog. During the first kilometre, everything felt stiff, which was somewhat expected after the two training days that I had. By the end of my third kilometre, my legs were warming up and started to feel a bit looser but, at the 4K point, after climbing a hill, my left leg was tightening on me. I stopped and phoned Dave. “Can you, please, pick me up?” I got in the car, holding back the tears.

In the next two weeks, I deferred my registration to Around the Bay (30K) and arranged to pass along my bib to the Spring Run-off (8K) to another runner. A visit to my chiropractor ruled out a TFL injury and my family doctor ordered imaging. Sure enough, I had strained my hamstring; miraculously, there was no sign of a tear – just a “fluid collection measuring 9 x 10 x 7 mm” near the left ischium tuberosity (which happens to be the weak area on my right side as well). “The hamstring is intact.” Relief.

But this was certainly bound to impact the rest of my spring/early summer racing. The 6-8 week recovery period is a blanket term for a younger athlete. My doctor said that translates to 10-12 weeks for a senior like me. I didn’t have 10-12 weeks. I had 8 weeks before running the Ottawa half-marathon (and I did) and 14 weeks until the half-Ironman (this weekend and I will).

Yes, I will do it! Focus, discipline, caution, trust: every single day. Chiro, physio, pool running, yoga, more strength and swim, bike, run…..I did whatever I needed to heal. “Trust the process.” This weekend, I am heading to Finger Lakes for the Half-Ironman that I didn’t think was possible 4 months ago. Am I where I want to be in my fitness? Not at all. My endurance is strong but my speed isn’t. However, I have pushed myself beyond what I thought possible and am feeling ready to start and finish Half-Ironman #2.