And that’s just it. After discussing war stories with age-groupers and pro’s alike, we all have something holding us back that could make us a better athlete. No one is perfect, and that’s what triathlon accepts. Triathlon is about accepting our imperfections and overcoming them. But there are times that the body has to do what it needs to do before you can race. We all know that recovery from an injury or even a workout takes first priority over racing. You want to race in racing shape, not “broken” shape. On that note, I have been very fortunate enough to always be in amazing shape and make it to every race start and finish line that I set out to do, until this year.
Despite being the invincible youngin’ pro (that I thought I was) an underlying congenital spine deformation finally showed it’s tip of the iceberg. L4/L5 of the lumbar spine carries the sciatic root nerve out and runs down the legs, controlling neuromuscular facilitation. Instead of a curved spine, I have a couple flat ones, which make the nerves pissed off at times and make my legs do some crazy things.
Some minor but not debilitating injuries of my past included sciatica, and some odd loss-of leg sensations, and lower back pain. But these would go away, never hurting my performances. This past winter, those symptoms came on again but stronger. My hamstrings were unnaturally tight despite a lack of any sort of muscle strain. I started running a speed workout, and pushed the pace too much too early at the time and tore my biceps femoris hamstring away from my bone. I didn’t cry, bruise, or think I actually tore anything. I could continue to run on it believe it or not, but with some pain. Ok- the doctors said that the pain should’ve made it impossible for me to run. Well, I did. Whoops. This resulted in my only option of surgery for complete rehabilitation. So I underwent the knife and am now called “scar butt.” Got told I should get some awesome tattoo over it- or just keep the battle wound :)
I got out of severe shape, but I did get to lay in bed for almost 2 weeks straight. It was actually kind of nice. Completely emptying the mind, sleeping, movies, reading and catching up. I put on my heart rate monitor for kicks and disgusted myself at the fact that my heart rate was in Z2 or in the 130’s to hobble out of bed and into the kitchen on crutches. Not walking for 2 months meant devotion to becoming a fish in the pool 2x a day. Then came the biking when I could start walking again were 150 watts for 45 minutes put me in the high 150’s to 160’s- that’s threshold heart rate, and then came the running clearance from Dr. Lantz at Slocum here in Eugene, OR who did an amazing job on my surgery. And it feels phenomenal. Running feels truly how it did again and way ahead of schedule too… so much, that I just finished my first pro debut race- a hard half.
Pacific Crest Half in Bend Oregon is one of the local Oregon favorites that truly amplifies all of the beauty Oregon has to offer. And has been on my race calendar for the past couple years. I choose it as my first test to see where I’m at after my recovery. I just started running a month ago, after not running since January and being non-weight bearing for 2 months, but could run a solid 2 hours or 16-17 miles on the concrete. The body responded pretty darn well. The hamstring responded pretty darn well too. Being a conservative racer, I surprised myself at what I was capable of and all of the fitness that was engrained into my body. All that swimming paid off- I was the first female out of the water and swam an easy 30 min 1.2 by myself. The bike was fun. I could go forever and finished at the same powerful bike time as last year despite stronger headwinds. The run felt like I wasn’t used to running off the bike quite yet but was only 3 minutes off of my stellar time from last year-, which put me at the same race time as last year being one of my best races. It was finishing proof that I am ready to be back in the field. I’m getting ready to really push it at Rev3 Portland- the clearance test was a complete pass. Kenz is back on the racing scene. And there will be some rabbits to chase there- looking forward to hunting again. And coming out of the swim WITH the pack this time. Pac Crest was a good solid win for me, but some go-getters will be nice to have.
So what do you do as a triathlete? Thank your lucky stars every time you make it to the start line in health, be thankful for what you’ve overcome and give respect to those who have made it there. And really take a look at the person standing next to you. I’ve had this happen to me as a pro, but my experience is so minute and farther removed on the continuum. And when I see a CAF athlete, it twinges my heart even more. I know what it felt like for a few months to not walk, but to live that way, and race triathlon?! Those are the real super-stars. A part of me races for those who were told they couldn’t, but can. Bottom line- the Ironman motto is true.
“Impossible Is Nothing”
And a huge thank you to all who have supported me through this and helped me get to the starting and finishing line. My friends, family and the awesome triathlon community both age-groupers and pro's alike who have helped me out and had faith in me the whole way. It's meant so much to me- triathlon is truly a supportive community where the word impossible is stripped from our language.
Until next time- I'm ready to ROCK REV3 PORTLAND!
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment