The Off-Season Update: The Runner I Am Right Now

I don't have as much time to do this as I used to, but I love reading the blogs of my fellow tri-e-thletes.  One of my favorites is Bob, another native Floridian.


More misguided advice
 from Inspirobot
I popped on to check out her blog today and I found this gem. She pretty much sums up the entire year I had this year - trying to keep up with Me Circa  2013, even though so many factors are totally different.  The biggest of those things are that my chronic health issues, my 70-mile round-trip commute and wacky schedule have been eating away at me.  
During the latter part of my training for Chicago (Septemberish), I got to the point where I had a devil of a time completing my long runs.  I was so physically zapped that I couldn't finish more than 8 miles sometimes.  When I did the Volition Half, I also pulled my IT band. It was only 3 weeks before M-Day, so I did lots of pre-hab and re-hab and took my running volume down, swapping out sessions for yoga and swimming where it seemed logical.


That was not enough. By now you know that I was still injured and I knew it from the first step of the marathon, but yet still decided (foolishly) to complete the entire 26.2 miles. 

Welp, that injury was not an IT band pull. It was a femoral stress fracture.

http://www.luckyslakeswim.com

I have been doing this for almost 10 years and I've never had a "real" injury.  I once had a tibial stress fracture so minor the orthopod allowed me to run a full marathon on it and even do speedwork. This is definitely NOT minor. No running, according to my ortho and my amazing PT (who, by the way, is the reason I figured out this was a sfx and not a muscle injury.) No cycling either - and no swimming if I kick off the wall. So all I have left is upper body, open water swims with a pull buoy, and trying not to walk or dance too much.

(Do you KNOW me? I am a one-woman dance party.  Trying not to dance too much is like most people trying not to breathe!)

I am super pissed at myself for being so pigheaded and setting myself back 8+ weeks by running 26.2 miles with a fractured femur.  B says I get "The Real Man" Award; I say it's probably more like the "I'm With Stupid" Award.



And here's how I got myself into this mess: although I've gained 10-15 pounds since my last 26.2 and have not felt well, I was trying to train at my old speeds as if nothing had changed.  I was trying to be, as Bob puts it, the runner I was back then and not the runner I am right now.  The runner I was back then was PR'ing a bridge-y marathon and winning sprints. And triathlon can be a peer-pressurey sport, and around me are all these fast people and Ironmen AND the ghost of The Runner I Was Around 2013.


The Funk is hard to dodge right now, considering I'm not doing much. I'd lost half the weight I'd gained, and now I gained that back so I'm sitting (very uncomfortably) where I started. I'm a little tiny person - 4'11" max - so 10-15 pounds is a substantial change.  Plus being without the exercise endorphins is very hard on my emotional state.


But I am actually having a pretty good time doing other things. Like going to the Dominican Republic and white parties and weddings of all kinds.  (Just trying not to dance too much.)
White Party!


Part of what got me into this mess was not accepting where I personally am - and knowing that it changes. I may be injured this year, but next year maybe I smash all my PRs.  Or maybe I don't...maybe I just get to waffle around doing unstructured training for half the year. 


I am a damn shark
There's no reason to think I won't be ready to start IMCHOO 70.3 training in January - I'm just saying that, no matter where I end up, I will figure it out.  And I will figure out ways to enjoy it.

Besides, this is the year of ESLSG.

And running 26.2 miles 8 times is pretty amazing. Every runner I've ever been agrees.

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