More "me" time

Sometimes as an athlete, it’s too easy to get carried away. You’re on a high, nothing can stop you, then all of a sudden…bang. A reality check stands in your way.

This reality check came for me at the worst time (is there ever a good time to get injured?) Summer had been going well, my training was going great, and I had just run a season best over 1500m (3:52) and a PB over 3000m (8:11) – which beats that magical mark that all Western Australians strive to achieve… the state best time set  by my old coach Ray Boyd many moons ago. Of course, this time doesn’t count as a record, seeing as I now am registered in NSW – but all the same, achieving a goal that has been a long time set is something to be proud of.

A week later, I punched out some short work after the 3:52 1500m, and started to feel a bit of a twinge in my achillies. Having run through this soreness for quite some time, I thought nothing of it, and continued to train. The next time I was at the track, I didn’t get past the warm up. Ken decided that I was to do a week of easy running, and to monitor it.

What ended up happening was a week of one day running, one day rest, and then ultimately a whole week with no running whatsoever. Its amazing to see how in such a short space of time, reality can come crashing back down to earth.

This last two weeks have been the longest two weeks of my life since moving to Sydney. No more than 30mins of running per day, strengthening exercises every night, constant icing and massage, anti inflammatorys, rinse and repeat. While this has frustrated the hell out of me (and probably more so Gemma, as I now have tons of unspent energy every day!) However, it has made me realise a couple of things.

1)     Never take your running for granted. Previously, I have got away with minimal stretching, minimal core/circuit work (maybe once per fortnight if at all), and not wearing the right footwear a lot of the time (thongs). This injury has made me realise how much I need to take care of my body and keep it strong.

2)     Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. I realised once I wasn’t running how much I analysed not only everyone else’s running, but what they were doing in their day to day life. I realised how much things like facebook had taken over my life, and as a result, I am now facebook free. I don’t know how long it will last, but it has been refreshing to be able to concentrate on myself and what I am doing, rather than worrying about what all my ‘friends’ on facebook are up to every moment of the day.

3)     A training squad is invaluable. As much as it has been annoying to not be able to run, it has given me the opportunity to sit out a few races, and watch the boys and girls compete. Whilst I’d love to be out there racing, it has been great to support the team, and this has kept me sane. Not having a close knit group in Perth would mean that every time I was injured, I’d go into seclusion, and become a hermit until I was better again.

As I am now a non-facebook user, I will have no excuse to not be updating this blog more often. I know I’ve promised regular updates a lot, but now I have a good 30 hours a week extra on my hands, I think this writing thing is going to come back pretty strong.

I’d also like to send a shout out to all the CHV guys who made it to the valley when I was back the other week, it was a pleasure to run with you all and catch up again. Hopefully, I’ll be back in town in the not too distant future, and we can do it all again.

Running Regards,

CC