It’s not with great excitement or awesome news that I get to write this blog entry. The last 4 weeks have been extremely challenging, forcing me to learn patience, set new goals and remember that life does not always unfold as one wants.
I set my calendar for this year with the hopes of checking off some incredible races on my bucket list. I was so keen to turn my attention to some of the great races here in Canada and I gotta say, we have a few. Originally, I thought that the first part of 2010 would be ultra running focused and then I would transition into some multi-sport by the end of summer in order to prepare for world champs and some other team races. Training was going great. After coming home from Salomon Advanced Week in France this spring, I was motivated and just couldn’t get enough of blasting around the Squamish trails. I was thankful to be home after a winter up north. However, my achilles injury from last year decided to return as I slowly pulled out all the cross training (ie – bike workouts) from my training plan with the hopes of being more sport specific. On the plus, training was going great. I was starting to climb with power once again and had really improved my cadence and leg turn over on the flats, something that has always been a weakness for me. Eventually though, I realized that this damn achilles issue has become a life long chronic problem and I could only push through it for so long. I had been in full “management” mode for about 16 months, getting regular weekly treatment and starting off every run in pain. But, when you are doing something you love, it’s hard to quit. I had big plans for this year and there was no way that this stupid injury was going to ruin things for me. And probably, had I not gotten the start of the stress fracture to my other foot, I would have just kept on going at this pace. Healthy to do that? No, not at all. Would I tell a client to stop? YES, for sure. I think my issue is that my pain box always seems to have room for a little more so I had willed myself to keep on going.
So this near stress fracture thing. Ya, what a pain. I won’t go into detail in this blog as to why that happened but to say in brief, my body started compensating as I ramped up my mileage and prepared for the Blackfoot Ultra, my first 100km of the year. Rrrrrrrrr…..I couldn’t believe that this was happening. I had already signed up for Sinister 7 and for the Canadian Death Race as well!! Trust me, this took a severe reality check to accept the fact that no, I wouldn’t be at ANY of these events this year.
Needless to say, I’ve been in a pretty big rut for the past months. Mentally I am struggling big time. When you can’t do something that you love, it’s devastating. I suppose we take our bodies for granted way too often, expecting them to always be 100% and ready to just go. I am healing though and fast at that, might I add. I haven’t run now in almost 4 weeks but I am cross training like a mad woman, biking 24/7, hitting the SUP and can you believe this, LEARNING TO SWIM!!!! Oh yes, that’s right. I’m swimming 4x’s a week now and loving it! Why have I avoided this for so many years? Not sure but I know that it will open up some future doors for me so that I can enter new types of racing!
So I guess that what I can tell you this: I’m trying to find the positives now in this injury. All good things can come from the bad right? I’ve got amazing sponsors who understand. I’ve got an incredible network of coaches, friends and loved ones who are supporting me. I’m staying focused on the road ahead! Things could be a heck of a lot worse, that’s for sure. Just to share some of the positives that move me forward each day:
1) I get to focus even more on all my awesome clients who are racing and adventuring – I get to live through them
2I get to watch lots of friends go out and tackle their own goals – I get to send support to them and reciprocate what so many people do for me
3) I’m learning to SWIM!!! And loving it
4) I’m learning to accept the notion of “change of plans”
5) I’m understanding more of the training systems that my body needs – I can’t just run but rather I must bike and cross train as well. With that said, I’m a multi-sport athlete at heart, I like doing it all!
6) I’m finding all kinds of cool races/events to focus on for the Fall + Winter
7) I’m spending more time on my businesses and the big adventure ahead
8) I’m doing all kinds of bike and SUP training sessions in awesome places, hence, checking even more things off of my bucket list
9) I’m growing as an athlete each and every day
To aid in this recovery process, I’ve started a VERY aggressive IMS treatment plan. It is working extremely fast. I continue to see Laura for massage and soft tissue release. I’ve increased my daily dosage of Udo’s Oil as well as well as Wheat Grass, MSM Joint Formula and am using Traumeel like there is no tomorrow. I am allowing myself more sleep. I’m done with dealing with pressing through injury. While my pain box has allowed me to do so much, I suppose it has been a detriment as well. Team mates know that once I start a race, I won’t quit. However, I want to be an example to all of you out there who are afraid to back off when something hurts. It’s ok to stop and address it. You will be happier in the long run.
So there you have it! That is where I am at in a nut shell. Each day I am one step closer to being back on my feet. I’ve still got lots of great things planned for the summer, not all involve racing but rather lots of great adventures. Come September, I will hit the road for Italy, Nevada and Spain for some epic races. October is filled with speaking engagements. November just might be the scariest challenge that I have ever undertaken.
I must always remind myself that those races will always be there for me to tackle, they aren’t going anywhere. I still got a lifetime to get everything in because what I do is a lifestyle, something that I have entered into by choice because of the happiness that it gives me. Training is not seen as “training” in my world, but rather as a chance to explore, challenge, experience!
Thank you to everyone for all your support, the road ahead looks AWESOME.
