The “Greats” of an Injury

Paul Cross & myself

The best part of overcoming an injury (in my case, stress fracture in foot) is feeling grateful for our healthy body and sensing renewed freedom from the restraints of constantly nursing the wound. It’s remarkable how much mental strength and emotion come into play when something in one’s body goes awry. Having had the odd injury in my past, I am well practiced at the many stages of coping with an injury: first comes raging denial which settles into anger then despair and maybe some regret, finally admittance and acceptance percolates, then as the rollercoaster settles in its station, surrender takes over that can, at times, feel like a relief. The key ingredient to coping, of course, is one’s creativity in designing an adaptation plan that mimics the activity you would otherwise be doing as an uninjured athlete. My creativity was at its height at about 4 weeks.

After listening to an Endurance Corner Podcast with Gordo Byrn and Bobbie McGee in which they discussed the many ways to build endurance for an endurance event like Ironman (an event which isn’t terribly fast but is long and lasts all day). Bobby McGee http://www.bobbymcgee.com/ commented that one doesn’t have to exclusively swim, bike and run to build endurance, especially in the base and pre-build phase of ones training. Hiking, trekking, Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, and mountain biking can all be great substitutes. He also believes that inserting a few “go-all-day” days in a year is a great way to build that non-stop engine. So, I decided to plan a “go-all-day” adventure. It started with an early swim of about 4km at an easy to solid pace, home for breakfast (whilst standing), quickly on my time trial bike for 5 hours at base effort, home to have a snack (whilst transitioning into hiking gear), hopped on my cyclo-cross bike with knapsack and runners for a short trip to the North Shore mountains for an intense 45 minute trek up the Grouse Grind trail, down the 6-minute tram (standing), hopped back on my cyclo-cross bike for the ride home where I, finally, crossed my imaginative finish line. I did it alone so I could be in the moment and mimic what it might feel like in my next Ironman. Looking back, it was both the mental deposit and physical output needed minus the actual running event.

At 5 weeks and 3 days, my foot allowed me to jog 10 minutes on the treadmill. Two days later my foot and I did 20 minutes at a ridiculously slow pace. Each day after the 6-week mark, my foot was willing to go a bit further and resistant to any insult.

Some “great” did, however, come out of this little hiccup. For one, I befriended a few new gals who were also injured. We’d meet at Kits pool to stride through the water on our way to nowhere in dream-like slow motion. I was quickly reminded that proper technique (with or without a floatation belt) is crucial when water running. If the body is not upright and poised while producing a powerful stride and arm swings, the running muscles will not be recruited. All to often water runners fall forward, collapse at the hips, and use the hands to move forward. This technique resembles breaststroking instead of running. While I am far from an expert, and don’t wish to become one, I picked up a few tips from my water running buddies that had great technique and had me working up a sweat in no time.

Another “great” from my downtime was the motivation I had to work on my run form and efficiency and start a run specific core routine. It was no decision for me to hired Paul Cross, http://www.crossathleticconsulting.com/ as the master behind this new focus. Why did I wait so long to do this? Paul’s approach to running form is inspired by Bobby McGee (as mentioned above), a Boulder-based running coaching I follow and admire. Bobby has helped many athletes become world class runners and surpass their running goals. Say no more, sign me up!

It only took 30 seconds for Paul to see we had some work to do after he assigned me my first drill which he says would “…dramatically improve my running” - SKIPPING! Not like the days of elementary school but rather like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky. With two feet and quick rebounds off the floor. This drill (aka: coordination test) posed a problem – I could hardly get to 15 seconds…my feet didn’t rebound, they stuck. With Paul’s guidance and observations (aka: encouragement and patience), I worked up to 45 seconds by our second session together. My timing and the elasticity in my calves was improving, and I was almost ready to go head to head with Mohammad Ali. My neighbor tells me 4 minutes of skipping is equal to 1 mile of running…I was sold.

My run specific core routine progressed from skipping to glut activation, hip drive strength, posture alignment, and trunk stability was tailored to my weaknesses. Paul even had me agree to diligently incorporate three stretches into the program.

Once my foot was healed, Paul took me to a track for a drills and striders program. Much like our gym encounters, it was quickly evident that this program was really going to help my run performance. After all the running books, videos and articles I have read about running form, every drill Paul introduced was unique (and totally logical) and every move I made was prompted with his cues and coaching until integration was apparent. After a few sessions, my running form has improved dramatically and leaves me only excited to practice the drills and striders more and more. In truth, however, my ability to make change in my form was really only because of doing one-on-one sessions under the skillful eye of Coach PC. Now, I want everyone who loves running to work with Paul so they too can benefit from his expertise. I have no doubt these sessions would elevate their experience of running to new heights.

The final “great” (that I will share) as a result of my injury was how the shift in my racing schedule taught me openness for change. For many weeks in May and June, there was no point in scheduling a race since the time to heal my foot was unknown. It sounds pitiful to even suggest this could cause angst within but in fact it does and it did. While I love to train for sport, I love even more to train for a purpose. For months, I had been preparing for a goal and all of sudden it was removed without a new one to take its place. To be honest, I became a bit obsessed with researching possibilities. I was looking at every race in July: France, Switzerland, Germany, Lake Placid, and the UK. My friends and family had to endure daily phone calls to weigh the options of selecting one race over another.

Once healed and after much thought and indecision, I decided on Ironman Lake Placid, which takes place in the State of New York just two hours from my hometown, Montreal. The trip was booked. New energy could be directed towards this fast approach event.

Since that decision everything has been on fast forward including the decision to sign up for a tune up half ironman race on July 12th – the Vancouver Subaru Half Ironman http://www.lifesport.ca/ . The skilled team of Lance Watson, Paul Regensburg, and John Bothello hosted their third annual Half Ironman on a glorious Vancouver day. The race attracted a superb field of pros and enthusiastic age groupers. I had the pleasure of dining with Christine Cogger (3rd in sprint) and Marie-Anne Prevost (2nd in sprint) from Whistler the night before, sleeping in my own bed, riding on familiar roads, and rejoicing with real friends. A few spectators even commented on my great running form. I didn’t have Paul’s business cards on me but I hope they all read this entry.

Jasper Blake http://www.jasperblake.com/ and I shared the 3rd placed spot on the podium. Jordan Rapp http://www.blog.rappstar.com/ and Magali Tisseyre took home the title while Steve Kilshaw http://www.stevofiveo.blogspot.com/ and Bree Wee http://www.breeweehawaii.blogspot.com/ finished in second place. It was a pleasure to be in the company of such great athletes and instill confidence for double the distance in only a couple short weeks time. More exciting was to witness and congratulate so many of my training buddies place in their division. If I didn’t say it enough on race day, I hope Lifesport continues to host quality local events for our triathlon community.

Since having my injury, I am the ultimate sympathetic ear to anyone I meet whose health isn’t 100%. Words are unavailable to express the mental battle of being “down” when being “up” is the norm. What always brings me back to earth is a quick reminder that one must surrender to the signals of dis-ease (niggles or outright pain) and that this too shall pass. When it does pass, we will be, without a doubt, stronger, humbled, and grateful for the new day.

More from Lake Placid.

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