You might know the feeling... anyone who has had an injury knows that feeling. As much as we tell our friends/ family/love ones (with eyes rolled), "Sorry, have to skip happy hour I have to RUN early" or "ohhh man, I HAVE TO get up to run X miles tomorrow" secretly we love it.
We might have gripes but let's be real... WE LOVE IT. That love of running sometimes also turns into some joy in complaining about it- or is that just me? Truth be told, being in that kind of shape when you can get up on a weekend day and run 15-20miles is just such a wonderful feeling. Did you LOVE all 3 hours of it? HA! But after?? You look at races get googlie-eyed 😍 😍 😍 message friends about signing up for that next race and gush about your love of the sport we love to hate on.
Then BAM! You get injured and all you want to do is go run. PLEEEEEAAASSSSEEEEEE let me RUN!! 😭
I am just about to tap into 1 full cycle around the sun from the day I was hit by a car- let's start from the day it happened. Morning Marathon was TOTAL frustration. I came in running a 3:58 marathon, when I had a goal of 3:35 or under. That disappointment followed a debate of "which race will I do now? I want that BQ!"
That evening after dinner/ beers (Portland 😜 #beer #love) with a few friends and my husband- we were 2 blocks from the hotel and a car turning left didn't see me. I was in the crosswalk and he hit me. I went flying off the hood when I came back to memory time - I tried to tell everyone I was ok and the soreness was from running a marathon (slow and I was pissed) from earlier that day. After a few good samaritans helped, and I convinced the cops I was ok... I hobbled back to the hotel seeing my foot was 4x the size. I realized that it was adrenaline shooting through my foot and things were not good. Long story short- avulsion fracture to my right ankle and I was given crutches as a parting gift. 😭
Today's post is happy, just to give some contest and to speed things along... let's review the timeline of this injury.
| Month | Rehab |
|---|---|
| May | 😭 Two week vacation on Crutches (wedding in Ireland) crutches- BOOT |
| June | Boot - Ankle Brace |
| July | Return to some exercise & starting PT |
| August | Walking and more PT -they told me TWO WEEKS OF PT & I COULD RUN!! |
| September | First run- One mile in Milwaukee (new state, felt great) |
| October- December | Slow and steady short runs, mainly on the treadmill because I am nervous of uneven surfaces |
| December | 1st race: 5k Santa Run (poured rain, but if just felt wonderful) Team Christmas Race - 4.4 miles, running 7:30ish pace! WOO. |
| February | 1st Half Marathon back- Zion 13.1 (ooooohhhh tough choice - 10* at the start buuurrrrr & 2,500' elevation. ~ 20min slower than 2018 1/2 in March but still FABULOUS) |
| April | Repeat of run from 1 year prior to injury (10mile race in SF) - 25 second slower time 😊 |
2018 Presidio 10 Race Data (Full Marathon training- one week from race day)
2019 Presidio 10 Race Data (1 year post recovery)
The fun part for me here, seeing how the up/down hills show through from one year to the next. I haven't gotten back up too far with the distance, and I am not where I was but MAN oh MAN does it feel good to hit some speed again. Mental toughness has been something I am working on and physical strength will come with time. My next Marathon? Who knows. My next race? At this point I also don't know- but I am excited for it. I am still feeling pangs of pain here and there- what is mental and what is physical? I'm trying to figure that out one day at a time. Happy Running to all, and sending you injured runners good vibes- it gets better! 😊
Great post. Glad to see you back!
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Great post! After running a few years injury free, I've had several injuries the past year and my shape is now really crap. It is so frustrating, I think you have to be a runner to understand it.
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