Are you at risk for a performance setback?

The other day I was chatting with a friend and I told her that there was no way that I would have been able to write my new book, Athlete to Triathlete, six years ago. Even though I've been a triathlon coach for over 13 years, several things have changed over the years that have helped me become better coach triathletes and understand the sport of triathlon.

For example, on Pg. 35 of my book, I address several factors that can place an athlete at risk for a performance setback.

Setbacks are no fun. They are frustrating, distracting and depressing. 

While motivation and excitement can help you show up to a training session, as an athlete, it's your responsibility to be an active participant in all aspects of your life. Seeing that lifestyle choices impact your training, your athletic success is built on great body-mind awareness.

In my book, I will help you train smarter and improve the odds of maintaining consistency with your training, all while building confidence for race day. If you are interested in more info on the topic of reducing the risk for injury, sickness and burnout, in a packed 199-page book filled with triathlon-related information, tips, guideliness, exercises, training and gear, you can pre-order my new book now on Amazon.

ORDER HERE: Athlete to Triathlete. 

Appreciative of the long run

After a very tough 1:45 trainer session on Saturday morning, we ventured out to the Pretty Place Chapel so Karel and his mom could enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains. We then we went back to Triple Falls so they could see the covered bridge and high falls. The weather was a bit chilly compared to the last time we hiked but the trails were so quiet in the afternoon - it made for a peaceful afternoon in nature. We made a quick stop at the Flat Rock Bakery for some fresh bread (and a pepermint brownie - yumo) before heading back home. As always, Campy loved his afternoon adventure and slept the entire car ride home.

On Sunday morning I had my longest training run in a very long time. I still get a bit of apprehension and worry on the day/night before a run. But with a good amount of time spent warming up with strength/mobility before each run, I am gaining more confidence and trust with my body.

My run was not the typical "long run" of going out and running for 95 minutes straight but instead, it included a bit of EZ, hills, tempo, aerobic and intensity. Let's just say it had a bit of everything.

WU: 10 min EZ + 10 min aerobic

Pre set:
3x (15/30/45 sec strong hill running w/ an EZ jog down between)

MS:
30 min aerobic running (holding ~140 HR)

PS:
4 x 2 min tempo (strong) w/ 1 min EZ between

CD:
15 min aerobic running (holding ~140 HR)

While I did find myself "wishing" I was faster during the aerobic running, I had a little self-talk with myself and stopped my negativity and reminded myself how grateful and thankful I am to be running injury free (and feeling so strong and efficient while running).

At the end of the run, while driving to the airport to pick up an athlete who traveled to us for a bike fit + swim assessment, I reminded myself of a recent/timely blog post that I wrote on comparison.

It's often said that comparison is the thief of joy. In other words, social comparison is a big part of how we determine our own level of happiness.

If you find yourself in a daily competition with the achievements of others or a past version of yourself, it's time to direct your energy elsewhere. Start caring about the things and people in life that are meaningful and purposeful to you.

Life is filled with sadness, stress, pain, disappointments, insecurities, anxiety or depression. It doesn't matter who you are, life can be tough. However, this idea that life is far from perfect is far from the picture-perfect life that is often depicted on social media. While you may envy over someone's highlight real, you never know what the behind-the-scene moments look like.

I encourage you to have less comparison to others and more compassion toward yourself.

Although it is inspiring and motivating to see the success stories of others, do not let the triumphs of someone else trump your own personal accomplishments and achievements.

How to go from injured to injury-free.

I consider myself a very resilient athlete. I also don't consider myself injury-prone. Although my recent injury lasted around 4 months, I was able to complete two Ironmans, I experienced huge improvements in my swim and bike fitness and I am now back running injury free. This was my first  athletic setback in over 6 years.

Having said this, I know I am susceptible to injury. Whether it's my swimming (non-weight bearing) background or bad motor patterns or maybe my endurance and strength allows me to muscle my way through fatigue, me and running have a rocky relationship. I've never had a stress fracture or broken bone and no foot, ankle or knee issues. It's all been glute/hip/lower back related. I've learned that my body needs a certain amount of running frequency + strength based runs to keep my body happy. 

Injuries are extremely frustrating to athletes. They force "us" to modify our lifestyle and remove us from doing what we love to do with our body. However, there's always a risk to getting injured when you are learning new skills, exercising at a high intensity, stretching your comfort zone, pushing your physical limits or training through fatigue.

So much of the rehab process requires time, patience and assistance from a medical profession (doctor, PT, strength coach, dietitian). However, it's important to get your mind in the right head space throughout the healing process.

Because many athletes fall victim to a vicious cycle of injury→rehab→return to sport→re-injury, here are my tips for how to help you go from injured to injury-free.

1. Don't give yourself a deadline - There's never a "right" time for an injury. Most of the time, injuries come when you least expect it and in the mind of an athlete - at the worst time: close to a race or when you are feeling like you are in the best shape ever. Feeling like you need to be healed by a certain date can bring a lot of mental stress, anxiety and frustration. You can't predict the future so make peace with the situation and just focus on one day at a time.
   
2. The race is not as important as you think - It may feel like your upcoming race is the most important race ever. You feel a tremendous amount of pressure to perform, you worry that you are letting others down, you've invested so much time, energy and money and you may never ever have this experience to race this race ever again. If you find yourself expending a lot of mental anguish on your upcoming race, remind yourself that it's just a race. And race day is when you get to showcase the best version of yourself. Be smart. Instead of wanting to make it to the start line of your next race, being able to live a healthy and active lifestyle in the long-term is more of a priority.
   
3. Focus on what you can do - A setback doesn't mean that you have to throw in the towel. The worst thing you can do during an injury is be all or nothing. To expedite the injury healing process, keep yourself healthy, strong and active - within the confines of your physical limitation. While it's normal to feel frustrated, sad and dissapointed, you have a choice. You can wallow in self-pity or you can accept your new normal and be positive about what you can do. Above all, an injury doesn't mean that you have to give up your sport, be sedentary or that all of your hard work is now lost or was all for nothing. The body works in amazing ways. To see your body do something amazing, you can't give up on it.
   
4. Don't take it out on your body - Athletes have a very unique relationship with their body. An injury can be a traumatic event for any athlete, particularly the body conscious athlete. During this stressful time, the incidence of disordered eating or eating disorder behaviors may increase. When you put so much into your sport, it can easily become your identity. When your normal daily activity level is diminished due to injury, you may find yourself wanting to cut out food groups, avoid carbs and significantly reduce your calorie intake. Remind yourself that the body needs nutrients to heal. Depending on the type of injury, you may actually need more nutrients than normal. While adjustements in your diet may be needed, an extreme change in your diet is not necessary. Understanding that the body may change, this doesn't mean that you are becoming any less of an athlete. Be kind to your body. The body that you are starving or poorly nourishing is the same body that you also want to heal so that it can perform well in training and on race day.
   
5. Turn rehab into prehab - Throughout the injury healing process, you should surround yourself with a team of professionals. ART, chiro, PT, massage therapist. While some of these professionals will do the work for you, others will give you homework to improve muscle weaknesses, imbalances and to strengthen or mobilize an injured body part. It's a common mistake that athletes will forgo specific rehab exercises once training has resumed. To prevent a re-injury and to get more in-tune with your body, your rehab routine should turn into a consistent and evolving prehab regime. Don't wait until an injury occurs to address your limitations, niggles or imbalances.
   
6. Don't get greedy - It feels great to get back to a structured training routine. The first rush of endorphins after a time away from sport can feel amazing. You may find yourself craving more of it, more often. As you ease yourself back into structured training, do so gradually and patiently. Avoid the tendency to get greedy and to load yourself up with intensity and volume too quickly. Depending on your current fitness level, time away from sport and the severity of your injury, give yourself more time than you think to return to normal training and racing. And avoid the tendency to try to pick back up with your training where you left off before you got injured or to sign up for a race before you've given your body a chance to absorb a good amount of training stress.
   
7. A niggle doesn't mean another setback - Celebrate the small victories. Just because your injured has healed or you've been given the ok to resume physical activity, this doesn't mean that it will be smooth sailing. Understand that you may experience niggles, soreness and pain. This can also be a scary time as you fear re-injury. Learn to trust your body, understand what's normal vs. not normal and constantly listen to your body. During the return to training/exercise, it's better to be a little safe than very sorry.
   
8. Avoid panic training - If you have a big event coming up, you may be tempted to make up missed workouts or cram in as much training as possible before the big day. Because this approach is for your ego and not your physiology, it regularly fails. Instead, be grateful for where you are now. Thank your body for the injury that you were able to overcome. Recognize your current fitness level. With these things in mind, you can approach your race with a smart mindset. Having no expectations is a lot better than low expectations. See this upcoming event as a stepping stone to future events.
   
9. Tomorrow is just as important as today - Consistency is key to fitness improvements. If you put all of your energy into today's workout, you may compromise your ability to perform well tomorrow. After an injury, be realistic with your current level of fitness. A well designed plan has a mix of recovery and stress. While you may feel like you can do more or work harder, resist the urge. The continued goal is to always save a little something for tomorrow. There's no point celebrating an epic workout or leaving it all out there if you can't be consistent with training.
   
10. Time heals - No two athletes are the same. Every athlete is on his/her own healing path. Knowing that most injuries are not career-ending, you must have confidence in yourself that you will heal. The sooner you accept the injury, get a diagnosis, take action and start resting (or recovering) from the injury, the quicker you will start healing. Training through pain, racing with an injury or returning to training too hard or too soon simply delays the process and increases your risk for a more devestating diagnosis - which may be career ending. Instead of fearing what you will lose when you are injured, stay focused on what you will gain when you return back to the sport that you love. 

A few weeks ago I wrote about lessons learned through injury. I hope this blog post will come in handy for anyone who is struggling with an injury or is in the rehab process.

Lessons learned through injury

I went through a rollercoaster of emotions this summer with my back/hip/glute injury. Although this injury was nothing new or unfamiliar to me, it had been a good six years since I've had a run-related setback. Thankfully, my stubborn past self taught me a lot about how to best mentally and physically overcome an injury. While I felt like I handled it the best I could from learning from my past and being optimistic, there were certainly some moments when I wanted to give up on myself and count myself out of my two Ironman events.

Just to backtrack, 3 weeks before Ironman Canada I felt some lower back soreness on my left side on the 3rd day of our endurance training camp. I contributed to a lot of twisting while riding my tri bike to look at the other campers. The next morning, I felt stabbing pain in my lower back after bending over to put on my socks. My training was modified over the next 6 days and I felt like I had escaped a possible injury but a week after I experienced the excruciating lower back pain, I finished my long run and within an hour I had really bad groin pain. Oddly, I was able to hop side to side and jump backward with one leg but I couldn't bound forward or jump without pain. I took safe but extreme measures with dry needling (which I've done in the past), PT and ART but come Ironman Canada race day, I had three weeks of no luck taking any running steps forward without pain. I maintaining my run fitness (and soundness of mind) through water jogging but Ironman Canada was a big unknown. Since swim and bike were painfree, I approached the race with the mindset that I wouldn't finish the race but give the run a go (my first run in 3 weeks) and see how I felt within 2 miles. If I was in pain, I would call it a day. Somehow endorphins (and the positive energy of Karel and my athletes) let me cover 26.2 miles to finish my 15th Ironman. Thank you body!

And even more, I am incredibly thankful that I didn't do any harm to my body. I was able to walk, sightsee and hike and still ride my bike and swim without pain in the weeks following the race. 

For the next few weeks, I was scared to run. With IM Kona on the horizon, I didn't want to experience the pain and torture of my very first Kona (back in 2007) when I had a very similar injury to my ride side. I went into that race with 30 days of no running and then ran the entire marathon - refusing to walk. 

I was then on crutches for a week or two after as I couldn't bear weight on my right leg. It was so painful and something I never ever want to repeat again in my life. No race is worth my health.

Fast forward back to 2019 and I was literally afraid to run. Who knew if I was able to run but I just didn't want to take any chances. So for the next 6 weeks after IM Canada, I stuck to swim bike and water jogging. I actually liked the deep water jogging because I had intervals to follow and well, I love being in the water. I embraced it and just kept focused on what I can do (instead of wallowing in pity that I couldn't run). Sure, it was hard to see others run when I couldn't but I reminded myself constantly that we all have our own battles to fight. This was mine and I was going to come out a winner - eventually.

For the next three weeks, I was able to run on the treadmill but it wasn't comfortable. I was still experiencing some catching in my leg and then pain was subsidding. I was still worried but also had trust in my body. I spent a lot of time, energy and money on PT, working with a movement specialist and ART. While time always heals, I committed to these extra services because I was committed to getting myself back to running. Although I felt like I had a timeline for IM Kona, I made sure to stay patient. I knew I would go into the race undertrained in the run but I didn't let that affect my mental state. I put my energy into what I could control and remained positive and grateful for my body. Unlike my first IM Kona - when I felt like it was going to be the only time I would ever compete in the race - I knew that this Kona was a celebration and not an indicator of my self-worth or future sucessses as a triathlete.

Four weeks before IM Kona, I had what I would call my first real week of pain free running in 13 weeks. Of course, I should count the marathon I did at Ironman Canada :) 

It wasn't until two weeks before IM Kona that I did my first run outside - in the energy lab. And interestingly, I felt confident before the run even started. I had waited long enough and my body just told me in was time to run outside. I kept the runs short with a spice of intensity for neuromuscular firing and included walk breaks to reset my form. I was grateful and thankful to be running pain free. That is, until I started to experience some niggles in my right hip/knee/back. Jeez - can't catch a break!

Although I was able to put together a super strong swim and bike and survive the run without pain, it was a very long summer of minimal running and I was ready to put this season behind me. It's been a tough one. 

But like the past, life goes on. Injuries heal. Goals change. And we get to turn the pages in our book of life to write a new chapter. 

Here I am with my first week of my 2020 season of training under my belt and a full week of pain free, happy running. Funny how life works. Nearly 5 months of struggling to run and two Ironmans completed and I take my off-season and in two weeks, I feel like I never took time off from running. I am running outside and on the treadmill and running happy. Me and running have a rocky relationship but I am not giving up on it. 

No athlete enjoys being injured but injuries are part of the journey. While some athletes get lucky and can escape an athletic career without a setback, the downside is that these athletes never get to the learn the valuable lessons that can be gained throughout an injury.

Here are some of my lessons learned through injury.

• Gratitude
• Perseverance
• Patience
• Confidence
• Don't look for a quick fix
• Trust 
• Respect the body
• Mindset is everything
• It takes a team
• A setback is a learning opportunity 
• Positive thinking
• Tough situations don't break you, they make you 
• Never let sport become your sole self-identity 
• Be grateful for what you have while you have it
• Never take a workout for granted.
• Never take your health for granted 
• Don't stop living your best life
• Stay happy in all circumstances
• Never give up

Nutrition during an injury

Whether you are a highly-trained athlete or a fitness enthusiast, there’s always a risk for injury. While some injures are minor, such as a bruise or inflammation, others are much more debilitating such as a tear, broken bone, impingement, stress fracture or ruptured tendon.

To avoid a decline in muscle strength, neuromuscular control and overall fitness, nutrition is vital in the healing and rehab process. Sometimes, with the right therapy, re-training program and dietary habits, athletes come back stronger and faster after an injury. Because the body has altered nutrient and energy needs during an injury, the following recommendations will help expedite return to sport:

• Protein - While the precise amount varies, be sure to keep up with your protein intake (ex. 1.5-1.8g/kg/d) – especially after exercise/rehab – to maintain strength and muscle mass.
• Carbohydrate – Slightly lower carbohydrate intake to prevent excessive weight gain and prioritize higher-fiber, satiating foods such as whole grains, fruits and veggies. 
• Fats –Prioritize plant and fish oils and be mindful of portions to decrease inflammation.
• Vitamins and minerals – Calcium, Zinc, vitamin D, vitamin C and A will help with wound healing, immune function, tissue repair and cell growth. Consume three servings of dairy (or fortified calcium + vitamin D rich foods) a day for bone health. 
• Hydration – to help delivery nutrients and support your joints and soft tissues, stay well hydrated with 90-120 ounce fluids per day.
• Plan ahead - By having meals prepared in advanced, you can feel confident about meeting your daily nutritional needs to ensure that you are getting enough of the right nutrients, at the right times, to keep your immune system healthy as you recover from injury.

Fear of gaining fat – Many athletes feel they don’t deserve to eat calories or carbs when not expending calories. However, your body still requires energy, carbs and nutrients – even at rest. And if you have surgery, your daily energy needs may increase by 10-20%. Give yourself the building blocks it needs to promote proper healing instead of dieting. Use this time to work on your lifestyle choices, develop a passion for cooking and create new meal planning strategies. For most athletes, a 5-7 lb weight gain is nothing to be concerned as you are likely used to a different body composition that results from structured and intense training. Learning how to love your body in different shapes and sizes is an important part of self-care.

Injury and mental health

Injuries are an unavoidable part of sport participation. While there are ways to reduce your risk and some injuries result from accidents, almost every athlete will experience some type of injury during an athletic career. While some injuries can be managed with just a little disruption to training (I call these niggles), some injuries cause substantial physical and mental stress. 

It's normal to feel frustrated, annoyed and sad when you experience an injury. Depending on the severity of the injury, your emotions may change on a daily basis. Every person has his/her own emotional reaction to an injury as well as how to best emotionally cope with a setback. It should be noted that injury process doesn't just include the time immediately after an injury until the injury is healed but it also includes the rehab process and the time needed to return to optimal fitness.

Because sport/exercise/training is often used as a healthy coping mechanism to manage stress, to boost self-esteem, to optimize health and body composition and to increase self-confidence, athletes may struggle to find healthy coping behaviors during an injury. The psychological response to an injury may trigger the following:

1. Disordered Eating - When an athlete is no longer exercising regularly, it's an assumed response to want to restrict calories and carbs in order to avoid weight gain. While a small change in eating habits may be necessary, feeling like you don't deserve to eat or feeling intense fear of weight gain may trigger disordered eating. For some individuals, when self-identity is threatened, the incidence of disordered eating or an eating disorder may increase.
2. Depression - Sport increases self confidence. Great feelings come from completing a workout, relieving stress through exercise and socializing with others. When you can no longer do what you love to do, you may question your own self-worth. Feelings of anxiety and stress due to a re-injury or lack of confidence in your return to training may cause extreme worry. There's also the emotional exhaustion that comes from spending an excessive amount of time and energy on the should of, could have and if scenarios.
3. Isolation - You may feel like everyone can train but you. Seeing people at the gym or outside may cause anxiety, sadness and a sense of alienation. When you feel like you no longer fit in with your community or friends, this may cause isolation and a loss of interest and withdrawal from healthy behaviors or proper recovery/rehab. 

There's no right time for an injury. If you suffer from an injury, allow yourself to mourn. You don't have to be "strong" by hiding your feelings. Your emotions are an important part of the healing process. You must feel to heal. While it's difficult to do, try to stay positive and keep everything in perspective. Use the success stories of others to give you hope. Maintain a positive outlook.

While rehab and therapy may not be as fun as training, don't cut corners or waste time doing nothing. Work as hard with your injury recovery rehab as you did with your training. Don't be all or nothing. If your injury allows you to still continue some part of your training or a different mode of activity, do it. While  you may not want to do it because it's just not as fun as what you did before, do what you can to get back to where you want to be. While you may feel upset and maybe even embarrassed, don't isolate yourself from others. Seek the support of people who can lift you up. Be patient - injuries don't follow a defined time-line. Rushing the process may result in a re-injury or a delay in healing. Sometimes the quickest way to heal an injury is to go slow.

Lastly, seek help. Use the time away from sport to work on your nutrition, sleep habits, personal relationships and/or mental health. Seeking out the help of a professional, therapist or counselor is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength and determination to overcome a setback.

8 week IM Kona countdown update

It felt great to get back into structured training last week. I was a bit nervous for my long ride on Friday (4.5 hours) as it was my first outdoor ride since IM Canada so I recruited my friend/athlete Al to join me for company since Karel is out of town. Karel was in Mont Tremblant supporting our athletes who were racing there (both did amazingly great!). I've also been recruiting my swim partner Kristen for my swims - on Thursday we had a toughy of a workout. The main set was 4000 (after a 500 warm-up) and the workout was a lot of building, pacing and specific intervals to hit. Our arms were super tired at the end!

Although I'm still not run training yet, I did my first run (on the treadmill) this morning - yay! Celebrating the small milestones.

While I've never had a bone related injury, I'm well familiar with soft-tissue injuries and the biggest thing stopping me from running over the past few weeks was the tugging and tightness that I was feeling. While not true pain, it was not comfortable so I didn't want to risk running through it. And I'm not talking about normal muscle soreness uncomfortable but the uncomfortable where I would have to change my gait and put all my attention into my leg/back instead of truly enjoying the run. However, over the past few weeks, I am spending time in the pool with deep water jogging with an aquabelt. I find it helpful to maintain my run fitness but also for neuromuscular control to keep the running movement going. Thankfully I can still bear weight so I am still loading my bones with walking. I feel like I'm making some great progress with me weaknesses - which involve turning off my hamstrings and lower back and learning how to better active my glutes. I've been working with a movement specialist and it's tough stuff! My glutes have been on fire! Although I've wanted to give up on my return to running many times over the past few weeks, I know this is part of being an athlete. Rather than thinking about this process as a return back to running, I see it as a great opportunity to learn more about my body.

Total workout stats last week:
Swim: 19500 yards
Bike: 9:57 hours
Run (water jogging): 2:17
Strength: 90 minutes (not include PT sessions)

It can be tough to stay dedicated to training when you are dealing with a setback but time is going to pass by anyways so you may as well focus on what you can do in the moment so you maintain fitness and strength and build confidence for race day. Plus, training is also exercise (and stress relief) for me and I still find great joy in moving and using my body so I want to dedicate time to myself everyday, doing what I love with my body.

Since it's just been me and the Campster since Wednesday, we have been spending some quality time outside each day. Alongside marketing my second book, I have my next book (third book) deadline approaching so much of my day has been spent writing, writing and writing. I feel like writing a book is a lot like training for an Ironman. It has its highs and lows, there are moments when you can't wait to do another and then you never want to do it again. But someone, you keep going back for more. Yep, that's a lot like writing a book.

This has been a busy time for me with coaching and nutrition consultations. Athletes need a lot more attention and care toward the end of the season and with key races approaching, there's a lot more attention to detail around this time of the year. I've had to cut back my nutrition consultation work load because of this third book that I'm finishing up but the athletes I am currently working with are working hard to make great things happen for race day. I truly love nutrition consulting so I can't wait to get back to my full work load in several weeks.

My scratch cornea is finally healed and I've made up for lost time by taking Campy for lots of walks and doing lots of snuggling (careful as to not scratch my eye again :)

Making hard decisions when dealing with an injury

Imagine if you could train and race without a single risk for injury? 

If it seems to good to be true, well, that's because it is.

Injuries are part of sport. If you call yourself an athlete, accept that you are always at risk for an injury.

When you train for an athletic event, you are placing a tremendous amount of stress on the body to improve your skills, fitness and preparation. And for any athlete who wants to get more out of his/her body, there are risks to be taken to push a little harder and go a little longer. Certainly, every coach has his/her intentions to design a smart training plan/training environment to reduce the risk for injury but sometimes things are just out of your control. While many injuries (niggles) are managed conservatively with little break in structured training or activities of daily living, other injuries are very disruptive to life, often causing physical and mental stress due to a complete stop in physical activity. 

For any athlete who has been injured, it's normal to be pissed off, frustrated, sad, mad, angry, disengaged and irritated. This may cause isolation and lack of motivation and may lead into more serious issues such as depression, anxiety, disordered eating and substance abuse. 

Realizing that some injuries come randomly (without a known trigger or warning) and some injuries are accidents (crash, rolling an ankle, slipping on a wet floor), it's important to note that athletes are not injury proof. Whether an injury happens randomly or because you are always pushing your limits and ignoring pain, injuries happen in sport and each athlete will have his/her own mental and physical response. 

Certainly, for any outsider (friend, family member, training partner, coach, teammate), it's easy to give advice like "hang in there" or "stay positive" or "don't give up". But athletes don't just deal with the physical pain of a torn muscle, strained tendon or broken bone but also the mental pain associated with the temporary or permanent loss of sport (which also brings purpose and self-identity)

As an athlete, although there is no good time to be injured, one of the most difficult times to be diagnosed with an injury is right before an important event. While athletes will often get injured due to a ramp in training volume/intensity, athletes can often be a bit too dedicated (stubborn) to training in the 4-6 weeks out from a race and will often feel the need do go a little harder or do a little more to validate race day readiness - thus the risk for injury increases.

I get it.

It's very tough to make that decision "to race or not to race."

With your athlete brain, you are often only capable of thinking in the current moment. It's nearly impossible to think beyond your next race. 

For example, in 2015, Karel tore his plantar fascia in early June while training for Ironman Lake Placid. This was his first real injury and he didn't want to accept it. When he finally received the MRI results that it was a tear (as we were driving to Lake Placid a few days before the race), Karel still wanted to race. He thought he could just tough it up and race and then he could recover from the tear. His thinking was - well it's already torn, what worse could happen?

He was obviously thinking in the present moment and could not see beyond Lake Placid. He could not think about his health or anything beyond this injury. I don't blame him. This is normal and he was not doing anything wrong. He could not see that in 3 months, he would have the opportunity to participate in his first Ironman World Championship (with me) IF he didn't run in Lake Placid. It seems like logical thinking (don't race Lake Placid and heal up for IMKona) but as an athlete, it's extremely difficult to think logically, let along see beyond your next finish line. 

As athletes, we often struggle to recognize and accept long-term consequences of our immediate actions. 

There are many common reasons why athletes feel they need to complete a race, even though they are faced with an injury. For example.....

But I told everyone I was doing it and all my training buddies are doing the race.

I don't want to be left out. 

But I trained so hard for this race. 

But I spent so much money on this race and trip.

I don't want to gain weight.

But I invested so much time for this race and I don't want to let my family down. 

I'll just take it easy on race day. 

I want the finisher medal.

I just really want to do it.

I remember telling Karel over and over that his reasons for "racing" with a torn plantar were not smart. Come Kona, he would be sitting on the sidelines, regretting the decision of hobbling his way through IM Lake Placid - that is, if he could even finish the marathon. He would just be suffering and surviving until he could not tolerate the pain any longer. It was very difficult for him to see long-term but I kept reminding him that if he only competes in the swim and the bike, he will still have the opportunity to compete in Kona as he can kick-start the rehab as soon as he returns home from Placid.

Although we had many discussions during the 72 hours before the race (and Karel desperately hoping a miracle would heal his foot before the race), he finally made the right decision to DNF after the bike......after he packed his running shoes in his T2 bag and finally recognized that running was not a smart option.

Karel learned a lot from not racing with an injury. Karel is much better at thinking long-term and now he has the experience of a serious injury (with a positive ending) to help him make good future decisions with his body. I always believe that injuries teach us lessons - in sport and in life.

Well, here we are again....but with NO INJURY.

Instead, here we are, just a few weeks away from traveling back up to Ironman Lake Placid for Karel to race on the same race course as his first Ironman in 2013 (our first IM together) and on the same course that he did not finish on due to an injury back in 2015.

As an athlete, remember that the entire goal of training is to compete at your best. If you can not race at your best due to an injury, then your immediate goal is to heal yourself so that you can return to sport with a healthy and strong body.

It's always a tough call but be sure to think long-term. No race is "worth it."

And in case you were wondering, yes, Karel did end up racing in his first Ironman World Championship and he finished the race with no pain and a great marathon with minimal run training. He was diligent with his rehab therapy and was very patient in the process of letting his foot "heal" from July - October. After his torn plantar finally healed (it took about 11 months until it fully healed), he went on to have a phenomenal 2016 racing season by completing 3 Ironman's (and qualifying and racing Kona again), while running his fastest ever marathon off the bike (3:06 at IM Mont Tremblant - fastest male amateur run split).

An injury is a great teacher. Pay attention because it can teach you a lot if you listen! 

The emotional athlete

It's hard to believe that just over 1 year ago, Karel and I qualified for the 2015 IM World Championship. And in two weeks from yesterday, Karel and I will be boarding a plan to the big island of Kona. And in 24 days, we will both be starting our 140.6 mile journey with 1500+ of the best Ironman athletes around the world. 

Just like you, we are on the same emotional roller coaster that so many experience when training for a key race. With any race day countdown in place, the ups and downs of training for an event can leave you exhausted and drained on some days and excited and overly energized on other days. 

No matter what the race distance may be or your fitness level, we all struggle with the dynamics of our emotions on a day to day basis.
Before you scream "why me?" when you find yourself angry, crying or stressed (or all three at once), what you feel is completely normal and not limited to world class, professional or elite athletes.
Every athlete has the opportunity to improve on weaknesses, experience gains in fitness and succeed on race day, so it is important to learn how to get your feelings under control.  

TRAINING MOTIVATION

                 It's truly remarkable how motivation can swing like a pendulum in any given week, day or even in an hour.
12 weeks out from a race and you may find yourself skipping workouts, not sticking to your training plan or struggling to get your butt out of bed in the morning (or get to the gym after work).  But 4 weeks out from your race, you realize that you can not change the past and all of a sudden, you feel unstoppable and it's no trouble to easily check off every workout on your training plan.
Monday through Friday, you can't seem to find your mojobut come the weekend, you can knock out hours and hours of training and still crave more.
And ask any triathlete who spectates or watches a triathlon race online (especially Kona) and within 24 hours, you can go from having no motivation to finding an enormous amount of energy to do the work....even when you haven't changed anything else in your life (ex. you are still busy, tired, stressed, etc.).

                 Motivation is the driving force for effort and with effort comes accomplishment. When you feel accomplished, you are more driven to continue to stay motivated to train. To perform your best and reach your goals, you must find ways to keep yourself motivated and be willing to go out of your way, sometimes, to get the work done. To help you out, dedicate 5 minutes before every training session to ask yourself the following: "What are my goals, why am I working so hard, why do I love to do this, how can I clear my brain right now to focus on my workout, why is this so important to me, how can I make this workout fun?

                  It is important that you allow yourself to manage the emotions that may cause you to struggle with motivation before workouts and to keep your thoughts positive during a workout so that you do not find excuses especially when the going gets tough. 

NUTRITION

                In my line of work, I work with a lot of athletes who struggle with the emotions tied to their body image. And, I also work with a lot of athletes who are performance-focused and want to learn how to eat for fuel and for health to maximize performance.
The immediate vulnerability that an athlete experiences before, during and after training often causes an athlete to intentionally underfuel or to use food as a reward. The big problem with this is that the times when the body is under the most stress (training/working out) is when the body needs appropriate nutrients, fluids, calories and fuel to meet metabolic demands. But for an athlete who has a poor relationship with his/her body, seeks body composition changes or lacks the education on how to properly fuel for workouts, will sabotage the workout and health by not taking advantage of fueling the body in motion.
On the flip side, there is often the tendency for athletes to carry poor eating habits in their daily life while training for an event which often creates negative internal dialogue, creating an unhealthy relationship with food. Examples include "I shouldn't be eating this, I'll be better tomorrow, I wish I didn't eat that, I feel so gross/fat, I'm being so bad". In this instance, you absolutely do not want to let emotional eating sabotage your performance, energy, health or body composition.

               Every athlete has the ability to put great passion into their daily eating habits where eating is not strict, an obsession, forced or boring. To ensure that you keep a good relationship with food, plan ahead. Plan, plan, plan! Just like with a well designed training plan, you can feel more balanced and more in control of your choices, when you set yourself up for good behaviors. 

INJURY

               Talk about an emotional roller coaster!
An injured athlete often goes through several stages to cope with the injury diagnosis, rehab and recovery process that often resembles grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Depending on what stage an athlete is in after the injury occurs, this can often dictate how the athlete will manage his/her emotions relating to the injury and recovery process.

              To ensure that you do not make further damage by pushing through pain if you are denial or angry at the injury or while feeling down in the dumps you decide that the rehab, therapy and cross training routine is just not worth it, find an athlete who has proven that an injury doesn't have to be the end of your triathlon career and then keep them in the front of your mind as you manage your emotions and trust yourself that you will heal. Linsey Corbin, Jesse Thomas, Craig Alexander, Meredith Kessler, Janelle Morrison are among the many professional triathletes who have all proven that it is possible to be at the bottom with your fitness with an injury but with hard work, focus and determination, rise to the top again. 

EMOTIONS

Did you know that you can be nervous and confident at the same time?
Did you know that you feel ready and be worried at the same time?
Did you know that you can feel off but still perform well?

You may think that the training is tough leading up to a race but sports also test your emotional stability.
Feelings and actions are two different things and as athletes, we need to learn how to calm the feelings that may negatively affect our performance and instead, hold on to the feelings that help us enhance our performance.
Emotions are part of being an athlete and it is important that you learn how to embrace the nerves, anxieties, fears and concerns and bottle up the good vibes, confidence and excitement for seeing what your body can do on race day. 

I often view racing as the end of a chapter of life. We all have a "book of life" and we fill our life with many chapters. Every chapter is filled with emotions - lots of them! Some chapters are not so fun and we don't want to remember them but then there are chapters where it is exhilarating to write the pages of our life because no one can write them for you - only you! 
Training is fun and exciting but also it is challenging and exhausting.
With every training journey, you are in a chapter of your life. 
Make it a good one!

The injured athlete - take it from me

Year after year, season after season, I was defined, destroyed and strengthened by injuries. 

I remember the very first injury I had as a triathlete. It was 2007. 

 Karel was racing a cycling road race in GA and I decided to do a training run on the rolling hills while he was racing. Somewhere during the run, my entire hip/back tightened up and it was extremely uncomfortable. A few days later after returning home from GA, I felt a stabbing pain somewhere in my hip area during a run and that was it. 

And to make matters worse, I was just about 4 weeks away from my very first Ironman World Championship and my 2nd Ironman. 

I was devastated. 

I felt embarrassed, anxious, stressed and uncomfortable and simply put, my life just sucked for 4 weeks. 

Every morning I would wake up wondering if I could walk pain free. I went to bed hoping that tomorrow I would be in less pain. I wished for the day that I could take a hop without pain, let alone jog. 

I was no fun to be around and my boyfriend Karel was still racing bikes and I was envious of his freedom to use is body however he wanted.
I didn't want to be around anyone who was an athlete and I cried a lot. 

I did everything wrong for 4 weeks. 

I stopped almost all training to "rest" my hips. I got a MRI, X-ray (diagnostic tests showed nothing), saw massage therapists, constantly stretched and rolled, got a few cortisone injections, did ART, goggled, searched Slowtwitch for answers. 

I was desperate and I didn't know any better but to try to quickly fix myself as soon as possible. 

For several years after I finished the 2007 IM World Championship (yep - I still raced as a stubborn athlete and hobbled my way across the finish line with an excruciatingly painful marathon where I refused to walk), I told myself that I didn't regret my decision to race Kona. I earned my finisher medal, I was proud of my determination and I became an IM World Championship finisher. 

But fast forward to 7 more Ironman finishes, a PR of 10:17 in the Ironman and 3 more opportunities to race Kona, I wish I would have approached the race differently for my decision to race Kona as an injured athlete severely affected my health and body for 6 more years. 

If only I could have given myself better advice. 

I should have walked the marathon. Maybe I should have turned in my chip after the bike. Perhaps I just shouldn't have put myself in a tough situation to be in the race environment in the first place. 

After 6 consecutive years of dealing with hip/back/glute issues (from 2007-2013), often times not running for up to 3 months year after year, I've learned a lot about myself. When you are a chronically injured athlete (despite doing everything that you are told to do to keep yourself healthy and to overcome the injury), you hit some very low moments but also you can begin to have a better outlook on training and racing. 

Never is a workout taken for granted. 

You can give better advice to others than you were once able to give to yourself. 

It's much easier to modify workouts for a "fear" of getting injured again.

Looking back, I have had many scenarios where I have had to make tough decisions. As an athlete, some of my hardest decisions to make where not which races to register for in a season but instead, how to approach the season when an injury arises. 

Every athlete handles an injury differently and sadly, injuries are bound to happen. The human body is not as resilient as we think/want it should be. 

Some see an injury as an opportunity to focus on weaknesses. Others are frustrated with the situation but deal with the circumstances. And some refuse to change their lifestyle or goals and push through pain and discomfort. It's clear that there is nothing to gain when training or racing through an injury but it can be incredibly difficult for some athletes to think clear enough about the current situation and what's the best approach. 

Regardless of the physical pain, it's really the mental and emotional pain that is the most difficult part of being injured. Not only do you experience a loss of your sport but there is a dramatic change in your lifestyle. Workouts are removed, there is more time spent at doctor appointments and physical therapy treatments and there can be many days when it feels like the day is just a waste without a workout, just like old times. 

When you are the athlete who is injured, it is hard to think long term. It's hard to make good decisions that will benefit the future rather than what feels "right" at the moment.  Every effort is focused on quick healing and patience is an extremely hard trait if a race is on the horizon. For coaches, loved ones and friend's of an injured athlete, it is really difficult to say the right thing. As an athlete, you see that time is running out before a key race but the injury is just taking longer than anticipated to heal and that can be extremely frustrating.

Not racing or not completing the entire race is certainly one of the toughest decisions for an athlete to make. 

Out of frustration that months turned into weeks which turned into days, there is a tremendous sadness and a loss of identity as an athlete, and this anxiety and stress often causes athletes to make decisions that they eventually regret during the healing process. 

I often say that dealing with an injury comes with a roller coaster of emotions. Acceptance, denial, frustration content. Certainly a hard working athlete should be hard working in the rehab process but it's not easy to be all smiles and rainbows when you can no longer do what you love to do. 

As I head up to IM Lake Placid this week to spectate Karel and our athletes on Sunday, I am reminded of my last injury. 

Five months prior to 2013 IM Lake Placid, I suffered my last injury. For 3 months I did not run and I returned to run training in late May of 2013 with only about 8 weeks to prepare for the IM. 

Amazingly, I had a great race. Although it was not easy during my 3 month hiatus from running (and limited cycling and swimming), I refused to let my injury define me or destroy me. 

I had enough of being injured!

I told myself that this was going to be my last injury - enough already! 

 I was committed to the recovery from my injury to ensure that I didn't cause any more setbacks.  I was determined to get myself back to a healthy place and I would not rush the process even if it meant going into the race severely undertrained. 

Gloria was a big help and I wanted nothing more than to be able to race with my mind focused on pushing hard and not have my mind focused on tolerating pain or how I was going to overcome another setback. I was focused on taking care of my health and even though time did run out as I was progressing with my long run fitness before Placid, I did not let it affect my mental game on race day. 

2 years ago I crossed the finish line with a huge IM PR of 10:43. I ran a PR run of 3:48 after a 5:46 bike and a 1:01:02 swim. 

I was 5th AG which earned me a roll down slot to Kona (11 weeks later) and I finished 12 amateur female and 21st overall female. 

So what's my advice to you if you are an injured athlete with a race on the horizon? 

Don't let this injury define you. No one is taking away your athlete status. You do not have to prove that you are tough as nails by pushing through pain. Do what you need to do to get yourself healthy again. That is all that matters. Every day that you let your ego get the best of you, is a day that you could have made progress with healing. Be patient. You may not feel it now, but you will heal. And if you are proactive during your recovery/rehab, you will not only heal but you will be stronger than before. If you got injured because you made a poor decision in training/racing, admit it, own up to it and move on vowing that you won't make the same mistake twice. If you can't figure out why you got injured, explore the situation so that you can take the steps when you are healed (which you will be) to reduce the risk of a future injury.

Don't let this injury destroy you. There's no need to throw in the towel. We can all think about the many age group, elite and professional athletes who have had incredible comeback stories after overcoming an injury. There are athletes who have been injured and then beat the odds and other athletes who struggled for a long time and provided an extreme dose of motivation with their initial comeback to the sport.
When you get injured, you have to be 2x as motivated to put in the work to heal yourself than when you were an injury-free athlete. Come back too soon and you may experience more time lost. Keep yourself as fit as possible by focusing on what you can do, pain free, so that you do not cause any more setbacks. When you are ready to make your return back to full training again, you will be so happy that you did not give up when the going got tough. You will not be injured forever - don't forget this. 

Do let the injury strengthen you.
I believe that we can learn a lot from injuries. We learn a new side of being mentally strong. We become better in areas that we were neglecting to focus on before and we don't take for granted what we once thought was simple and easy.
Be your own comeback story. 

How will your story end? After a few days, weeks, months or even a year or more of an injury- what do you see as your happy ending?
What's motivating you to get better? What's keeping you focused and determined to not give up?
Who's helping you make smart decisions so you don't back track? And what will this injury teach you about yourself?
Are you going to be weak, lazy, unmotivated, angry or bitter or are you going to be determined, focused, hard working and diligent that there WILL be a positive outcome when you DO return to the sport that you love. 

From a former injured athlete...take it from me. 

You will be healthy and injury free again. 

Just do the right thing, make the right decisions and be smart.
It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. 

Returning to running after an injury

Ask any family member, training buddy or close friend to a runner (or triathlete) who is recently injured and can not run and you will quickly learn that an injured runner is no fun to be around. Sure, there are the athletes and fitness enthusiasts who keep a smiling face and a positive attitude while coping with an injury but it is completely normal to feel frustrated when you dedicate yourself to a goal and then receive a setback.

So when you get injured the focus should not be on "when can I run again" but instead, "why did this happen and how can I become a smarter athlete because of this injury."

As an athlete who enjoys to stay active, I have had many setbacks with training for events due to hip/back issues and anywhere from 6-12 weeks of no running. Although I can't say that I am always optimistic at the beginning of an injury, I have learned how to focus on the CANs and understand the physiology of my body better with an injury than when I am 100% healthy. I have worked with amazing physical therapists which I highly recommend when you are injured. I also recommend to wait no more than 7-10 days of experiencing a chronic ache before you see a sport physician to help you diagnose your symptoms. With my disclaimer that I am not a MD or a PT, I write this blog with a lot of experience in overcoming injuries and learning from MDs and PTs (from my own experience) and I have been very successful in overcoming injuries to arrive to starting lines healthy, strong, happy and hungry to race. Despite many "learning experiences" with my body, I have arrived to every Ironman starting line that I have signed up for and have finished every Ironman distance triathlon I have started. Although I am not sure of the reason behind it, my very first blog post on Trimarni was my first and only DNF. 

Because many runners struggle with returning back to running after an injury, I'd like to point out a few considerations before sharing my "return to run" plan that I have used many times (and I have also shared with several other athletes to assist in a healthy return back to structured, consistent training). 

-Many runners feel depressed after an injury. Even if running feels like it is your life, it is not. It is your lifestyle and thus you must have something else in your life that brings you joy, balance and relieve stress just as much as running. Start your list now as to what you will do if you ever get injured from running: another sport, train for another event, water jog, elliptical, painting, etc. Find something that will challenge you but will also bring you happiness when you are engaged in the journey. 

-Many runners love the endorphins or the rush of blood when they run. Nothing wrong with that. But identify if you are using running for weight maintenance or weight loss and recognize that running is not the only thing that will help you reach your body composition goals. The idea is to focus on what you CAN do to move your body and many non weight bearing activities can be performed so long as you convince yourself that yes, it's not like running but it will do the trick (check with your physician and PT first before engaging in another activity while injured. I work with great PT's that endorse activity as the body is not designed for rest). 

-Don't convince yourself that all is lost or ruined just because you can't run. If you are training for an event, the best place to start is to talk with your coach or an experienced training buddy on the best route to take. You may not like to hear it but it may be smart to pass on the race in order to ensure good health for the rest of the year. From Feb - April this past year I did not run, not even once because of my hip/back issues. I worked super hard with my PT sessions and continued to swim, elliptical, water jog and bike after the first two weeks of letting my injury flare up calm down. After 90 days of running, I still continued to believe I could qualify for Kona at IM Lake Placid. Not only did I qualify for Kona but I had a 10 min PR at IM Lake Placid but also went on to have a 6 minute PR in Kona, 14 weeks later. I know many athletes, pros and age groupers, that do not give up on their dreams and instead of spending energy on excuses they work hard and end up impressing themselves on race day. Every injury, person and scenario is different so remember that your health is the priority and no medal or t-shirt is worth racing in pain. Also, don't tell yourself you will gain weight, get fat or lose fitness because you are injured. I feel the best time to focus on your diet is when you are not expending a lot of calories because you can then get in-tune with your normal hunger signals and what it feels like to be satisfied without burning 500+ calories a day. Remember, your body burns calories every time you move so you don't have to just run to burn calories. 

-There will be a day when you can run again (hopefully) so keep reminding yourself of this. One thing I stress to every athlete is to remember the moments when you are injured when you tell yourself "if I could only run 5 minutes or 1 mile or 20 minutes I would be SO happy" or "I will appreciate every step when I can run again and I won't overtrain again" or "I will promise to fuel better, stretch more, strength train, etc. when I can run again" Be proactive during your injury and be sure you address anything that may have increased the risk for injury so that you don't make the same mistake twice. 

Below are three workouts that I recommend you perform (discuss with PT if you have one - which I highly recommend to assist in your rehab process to identify any weaknesses) so long as you are given the OK to run again. My general rule with coming back from an injury is to not rely on anti-inflammatory medications (or cortisone shots) to help you run again, especially if you are still in pain. Those medications have their place for some individuals but they do not make most running injuries go away so that you can run pain free and still recover. You do not want to mask pain when you are trying to return to an injury for you will only make the situation worse. Also, you must start slow. The goal is to make progress and to get yourself strong again. Understand that you will have inflammation and a few natural aches after you have not ran for a period of time. That is normal and shouldn't be confused with "I am injured again." The plan I have developed will allow you to stop before you need to stop and to hopefully encourage a gradual run back to running. Lastly, after you are 100% pain free and feel the itch to run - wait 2 more days. 

I promise that you will thank me for waiting those extra 48 hours for many runners are near the verge of full recovery but when they run again (pain free) for the first few minutes, endorphins take over and it's really hard to stop. Thus, the body takes too much stress and the athlete is out for more days and possible a few more weeks. Play it smart. If you have waited 2, 4, 12 weeks to run, why not wait 48 more hours just to be safe. 

A few key points:

-Understand that training won't be what it was before and the goal is to be able to resume consistency with training. Remove any pressure about fitness goals, races, etc. Just enjoy the beauty of a body in motion.

-I am a big fan of run/walk for training and thus I feel it is essential in returning to running after an injury. The less stress on the better, the better for you will run with better form, you will postpone fatigue and you will still receive the physiological benefits of covering x-miles or x-minutes. 

-Perform workouts without focusing on pace or miles. Focus only on time and celebrate every milestone. 

-Don't get stuck on a schedule. It's really amazing how sometimes it just feels "right" to run. I try to avoid telling myself that I have to run mon/wed/fri for my return to running plan. Instead, I give 24 hours in between workouts to ensure good recovery and to reduce inflammation but I also listen to my body. Maybe Mon, Thurs and Sun feels better or perhaps Mon morning and then Tues evening. The goal is to accomplish three workouts within a 7 or 10 day span, only focusing on one workout at a time. 

-Keep in mind where you are running. Always perform a good dynamic warm-up before you run to warm-up your cold or tight muscles. There are thoughts as to how to progress back to running on different surfaces  - anti gravity treadmill, track or packed trail, street (no sidewalks). Discuss with your PT who specializes in your injury to determine the best course of action. 

-Do your homework!! Don't just say that you will keep up with stretching and strength and then stop when you can run again. You are better off cutting a run short to dedicate time to recovery and strength than just focusing on the miles - which may cause another injury. Also, determine the time you have to run which includes time for a pre run snack (if needed, but I recommend one), dynamic stretching and also stretching post workout. You may say you only have 45 minutes to run but really, you may only have 25 or 30 min which is fine. 

 

 I can't promise that these workouts will allow you to be 100% healthy enough to run again but they will tell you the following
 1) If you are able to return to running training again in the next two weeks

2) If you are still injured or recovering and it is not wise to train or race in the next two weeks
3) That you are making progress with your rehab 

 

Two great dynamic warm-ups to perform for 5-15 minutes before you run:
Dynamic warm-up

Kinetic revolution dynamic warm-up

(I personally recommend compression - shorts, socks/sleeves. Also, run at whatever pace feels "right". Typically trying to run "slow" may affect your form so just run whatever feels the best at this time - not having a GPS will help so you don't get focus on your pace but instead your form and RPE)

Workout 1:

Run 3 minutes, walk 2 minutes

Assess the body - are you OK to continue? If not, stop. If ok,

Run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute.

Assess the body - are you ok to continue? Do you need to scale it back to 2 minute walk or 3 minute walk? Assess form and aches, not HR or pace (no GPS needed - wrist watch is fine).

If OK - go back to 3 min run, 1 minute. and assess.

If semi concerned, 3 min run, 2 min walk and assess.

Right now you are getting close to 15 minutes of running. WAHOO!

If you feel OK -  run for 5 minutes continuously. However, you've made it this far. The moment you feel an ache that doesn't feel right, stop! This doesn't mean you can't run again for workout #2 in a few days, it just means the body needs a little more recovery. 15 minutes is more than you have done in the past x-weeks so be happy in this moment (remember, there was a time that you would give ANYTHING to run for 5 minutes).

After the 20 min workout, stretch and ice and perform normal recovery strength/stretches/rolling, etc.

 

Workout 2:

Run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute, run 3 minutes. - anytime in here that you are concerned, add 1 extra min walking and during the walk, assess if you should continue. This doesn't mean you can't run workout #3 in a few days, it just means your body needs to recover more.

After 11 minutes of run/walk, walk an extra 2 minutes and stretch/shake out the body. Congrats!!

Now run 5 min run, 1 min walk, 5 min run, 1 min walk. Again - stop and always assess throughout. Focus on really good form and think about being light on your feet.

Congrats, you are almost at 25 minutes of run/walk - 10 more minutes than workout #1!

Walk a few minutes here and if all is OK - you can do 5 min continuous running as a cool down to reach 30 minutes total. Way to go!

Anytime during this workout it doesn't feel right, stop and be smart.

 

Workout 3:

Run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute, run 5 min, walk 1 minute. You should now feel like a "runner" again.

Stop and assess - this was a lot of run stress on the body in the past few days, more stress than the past x-weeks of no running.
Be smart here - should you continue? If you are OK, then walk a few minutes and continue on with the workout.

10 min run, continuous (be smart - walk as needed and always assess). Walk 2 minutes.

If all is ok,

10 min run, continuous (assess and be smart, walk as needed).

Congrats - if all went well, you just ran your longest run in x-weeks!! You should be so proud of your body. 30 minutes of running and then 6+ minutes of walking. Way to go!

 At this time, you may want to repeat these three workouts for 1 more week or you can gradually get back into your structured training if you feel 100% healthy. 

Train smarter to train harder

Well, I'm happy to say that my injury is almost gone. YIPPE for being smart. What was likely about to develop into a really bad case of plantar fasciitis was minimized by icing, Alleve (since I rarely take anti-inflammatories, maybe 10 or less a year, they work when I need them to work), foam rolling, ball rolling and stretching. Realizing that I can still bike and swim, I did not "test" the injury at all with any running after my calf became extremely tight on Wednesday afternoon. Every day I am feeling better and better and I am more and more thankful that I acted before and did not react after the fact. No race but I'm likely back to running in less than 2 weeks. I'll take it!

I would say that I am 90% healed so I will wait until I can go a full day without feeling anything in my foot/calf and then I will wait 2 more days before I resume running. As a recommendation to others who are injured, do not neglect the other side of your body when you are injured.  The same focus I give on stretching and rolling (especially my ITB and piriformis which is a daily routine twice a day) is being given to my left foot.

Thankfully, I have learned that prevention is cheaper than medicine. But I can't hesitate to tell you that if you are someone who experiences ongoing or painful injuries, please get it checked out as you will waste more time and energy google-ing and trying to treat yourself. Visit a sport physician and then see a physical therapist. They know their stuff and they will give you practical advice and help you out to move in the right direction. Be sure to find one that specializes in your sport so that they are very familiar with your daily exercise routine and goals.

I am working on a few presentations for January and February in which I will be talking with running groups and triathlon groups on training smarter to train harder. As age group athletes, I feel there is a lot of confusion out there as to how we can reach performance goals or personal athletic goals and not feel overwhelmed in the process. One thing I am seeing a lot of right now is athletes who are eager to start "training" again and are jumping right back into structured training with all the intensity and volume added in like it was just yesterday that they were peaking for their A race. Or, the athlete has not taken a break (only to "recover" from the last race) and is going hard again.

I am noticing athletes with a lot of energy in the beginning of a training plan (especially at the beginning of the New Year) so any free time is being taken up with "exercise" - AKA "junk".

 For many of my athletes, they are in an unstructured structured phase of training. The progression to structured training can be hard for any athlete because you never know how the body will respond and with short term goals in mind during every workout, it's easy to want to do too much too soon because you feel good.

The transition phase to more structured training should be around three to four weeks depending on how long you took yourself out from structured training. It's good to take a break but what we need to avoid is losing fitness. We need a break for the mind and body and the first priorities when we get back into a routine is strength training, flexibility work, focusing on the daily diet (prior to working on "sport nutrition) and weaknesses. Keep in mind that as an athlete, you are training for adaptations to the physiology of the body.
If you are just "exercising" you are focused on achieving x-miles or x-amount of time.
When you are training, your body is under stress. Thus, the workout has a plan and a purpose. Changes in stroke volume, cardiac output, oxygen uptake, hemoglobin levels, lung capacity, resting heart rate, VO2, an increased size in slow and fast twitch muscle fibers and muscle hypertrophy are all adaptations that occur when you train smart.

Although I am all about balance in life and with sport, I constantly remind my athletes that it will get harder. For now, they can thank me now for periodized training and making consistent gains that will pay off by race day.

When you have a training plan from a coach or put together your own plan, avoid doing too much too soon. Be ok with having a lot of energy at first because you don't want to waste energy on the first month of training only to find yourself burnout and injured 7, 8 or 9 months down the road. I encourage you to think about your training in training blocks - perhaps 1 month at a time with goals that you want to accomplish in each month. Consider the other variables in your life such as diet, sleep, flexibility and stress management that will also play an impact on your progression in fitness.

Here are two really great reads that I came across to help you develop a healthier relationship with exercise/training and to help you train smarter. Any questions, send me an email or comment on my blog. I enjoy responding to comments personally via email (or phone call if needed).

The art of recovery - By Matt Dixon
Common Mistakes made by triathletes - By Wayne Goldsmith

Putting training to the test!

I have spent the majority of my higher education learning about the physiology of the body during exercise. Thus, I love creating training plans for myself and my athletes that when training stress is applied, the body adapts for physiological gains. No training session is without hard work and every workout has a purpose. I love training my body and mind knowing that come race day I can perform with my trained body and current level of fitness.

Every day we make choices. Some choices we feel the effects right away whereas other choices we don't realize the outcome of our decision until later in life.

With 13,500 yards completed between Thurs and Saturday in the pool, I had plenty of time to think about my decision to not race the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon. The race that I have dedicated every run training session to in the past 8 weeks. The race that I was determined to PR and break 1:30 and the race that would take me to a new level w/ my run training.

I achieved a lot in my run training but I was bummed when my right calf got very tight on Wednesday afternoon. Wearing different dress shoes over the past few days was likely the culprit but you can't control everything in life..only your reactions. I couldn't stop reminding myself that I have come so far with my run training and that was not something that was making me determined to run. It was a positive thought that made me so lucky that I had the opportunity to come so far w/ my run fitness.

I didn't cry, I didn't freak out and call every doctor I know and I didn't keep any emotions inside. I discussed my decision with my mental coach Gloria and of course, communicated with Karel in a calm manner.

With enjoyment that I have the ability as an athlete to make good decisions, I decided on Saturday (yesterday) that as my calf was feeling almost back to normal that I would not take a single risk in running the half marathon. Knowing that I trained for a PR, I purposely did not register just for the reason that if anything were to happen, I would not want to feel pressure to do this race. Also, I knew nothing good would come from running a race where I previously hesitated about running in it.

I am not in pain, I am not injured. I am taking precautions and I will not run until I feel 100% + 2 days. I can run without pain as Campy has made me run him two times around the block but I don't want to do any "tester" runs as I feel that is the worst thing an athlete can do is to "test" things out as the inflammation is going away and pain/aches subside.

I thought about this decision in the pool because I love to swim. I also thought about my decision today while I was on the bike because I love to bike. I also love to run.....but not in pain or with an injury. I love my active lifestyle and I believe that as a competitive athlete, I am focused on a consistent active lifestyle of training my body for performance gains. So, sometimes things change in the routine and instead of wasting energy on what you can't do - you just focus on what you can do. Instead of a minute decision turning into a 6-8 week mistake/regret, I am thankful for my acquired ability to not be a stubborn athlete. Not every decision is stubborn as I do realize that as athletes we have a lot of decisions to make on a day to day basis. But, there are times that we know what we should do and not what we want to  do.

Although I can honestly say that in the past two years, I haven't had to think about a possible injury, before then, I was constantly making poor decisions and not being respectful to my body. Now I am a smarter athlete who knows what it feels like to race and train to my full potential with a strong, healthy body.

So, here was my thought process...

A tight calf that could not be "healed" with a massage this week means something isn't right. A tight calf may not be the reason why I am scared to run but it is my limiter. A tight calf may turn into a calf strain, a hurt achilles, plantar fascitis, shin splints, ITB tightness and perhaps even a stress fracture. None of this is worth it for a one hour and 29 minute race (well unlikely I would have been able to PR if I was hurt) and a t-shirt and a medal.

My calf is much better but I wasn't able to pass my two day rule. I am still working on lingering inflammation around my foot. It is strange that this developed during my taper but after a massage and after wearing different shoes for my TV segment something happened not in a run and never before in my run training.  So all I can do is reflect, write it down in my Training Peaks and make sure I learn from this.

Learning lessons: I will go back to my two week prep for a race which includes 1 week of recovery then 1 week of taper (reduced volume, high intensity with adequate recovery). I get at least 1 massage a month but for my pre-race massage, I will get it on Sunday evening and take off on Monday. Lastly, I will remind myself that I have the ability to make good decisions with my body. I am so proud of myself for not racing and although at first it was a little frustrating, I did not waste any energy on this situation. My life is too good for me to miss out on anything.

So, now I can just live in Karel's success for he did race the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon. Karel was a little sick with a stomach bug on Wed and Thurs and was really weak and tired for both days. He was able to bounce back to 70% on Fri and felt 90% better on Sat. I did not pressure him to do or not to do the race so he waited until 5pm on Saturday to make the decision to race. He did not train Thurs or Fri and did an easy 4 mile run on Saturday to test out his energy.

This morning Karel left around 6am for the race down the road and I was on my bike by 7am. I had a great pain free ride and anxiously awaited a text from Karel. I kept checking my watch and with the race starting at 7am, I figured he would text by 9am.

I pulled over on my bike to check my phone and received a text from Karel:

"That was the hardest thing ever! I suffered the last three miles. 1:22:22."

WOW - I couldn't believe it! A 7 minute PR for Karel in his 2nd ever stand-alone half marathon. He trained really hard and smart for this race and really pushed himself to see what he was capable of at this distance. He is now feeling "almost" back to normal and is looking forward to "triathlon" training. :)

RACE RESULTS

6:17 min/mile pace
4th age group (35-39)

I am really looking forward to 2013 and excited for the opportunity to share a full triathlon season with Karel.

Here's to smart decisions, healthy minds and bodies and working hard for dreams and goals.

Do you have time for an injury?

It concerns me that athletes think that stress fractures are simply a natural occurrence of being an athlete and training for an event (or trying to become more physically fit). I have never had a stress fracture and will do anything in my power not to get one. However, I have had my battles with long-term painful muscular injuries and I am constantly finding myself learning how to be a more proactive athlete.

 I realize that many injuries are accidents in that as athletes, we have a hard time recognizing a normal ache from painful, injury-provoking ache. And sometimes, accidents do happen such as rolling an ankle when running on uneven surfaces or crashing on the bike. But as athletes we are always teetering on the edge of getting injured because we like to push to see our limits and with a natural tendency to think "if some is good, more is better", simple decisions often come with major consequences.

As age group athletes, we are not paid to do a sport which ultimately keeps us physically fit. So, when it comes to an activity that you enjoy, that helps you burn calories, relieve stress, spend time with others and occupy your free time, why do you let your love for consistency outweigh your ability to be flexible and to be proactive? Sure, you can come up with a dozen reasons as to why you need to do that race or that training session but I have a feeling if you were to ask an athlete who is now injured or is rehabbing from an injury if he/she could have had a do-over, they would likely be jealous that you are not the one in pain or painfully having to sit on the sidelines for an undisclosed number of weeks/months. I'm sure they could easily answer, "was it worth it?"

 If only they would have listened to their instinct (or created one) and to not let a moment of  being in the now come ahead of thinking about the future.

As an athlete, I get it. It's tough to dedicate time, training and money for a race and then have to think about the possibility of not doing a race. Despite dedicating every training session to mentally and physically preparing your mind and body for the race, an injury causes you to stay in the present and regret the past. The future only goes so far as a finishing line and determination to get there outweighs any long-term consequences of your decision to do a race (or upcoming training sessions) with a body that is not physically and mentally healthy.

Without removing my athlete status, I will put on my coaching hat to help you decide if it is really worth it to train and race injured (or on the verge of an injury).

But I told everyone I was doing it and all my training buddies are doing the race. I don't want to miss out.
The one who has to live with an injury is yourself. Race with your training buddies injured, miss out on the upcoming weeks or months of training because you were caught up with peer-pressure or race-hype.  Consider your family, job, friends and your daily responsibilities which require a healthy body and mind to perform optimally on a daily basis. There will always be another race and you can still stay involved by cheering or volunteering at the race. More often than not, a missed race may only cause you to be out for 1/2 the time compared to doing the race. Thus, the quicker you will be back at it with your friends.

But I trained so hard for this race.
You trained to perform with a strong, healthy body and a strong race day performance comes when your mind is your only limiter. Put your ego aside and keep in mind that there will be other races. If you want to impress yourself with your fitness, do so with a body that is in not in pain before or during a race.

But I paid for the race and I don't want to lose my money.
Consider the time lost from training and exercise after you are rehabbing yourself to good health again. Time does not have a price tag. When you are injured you wish time would rush by so you can be back at it again. But when you are in good health you wish you had more time to enjoy the things you love. Consider next time to not register for a race until the day before, if possible. Decide if the price difference between registering early vs the day before is worth it when it comes to losing your money for early registration or having to not worry about losing anything by waiting until the day before a race and making the smart decision not to race.

But I invested so much time, money and energy in training for this race.
There should only be a handful of times in your racing career when you will need to make the call if the race is worth "it". Rather than involving your physical therapist, doctor, etc. all at once to magically heal you in x-weeks/days before a race, consider realistically if you really think that the odds are in your favor in that your team of magicians will heal you and allow you to race injury free and properly recover from the race. Realizing that even if you are experiencing an injury, there are ways to finish a race without doing more damage but you have to be realistic with your approach to racing with an injury. Consider the money for xrays, MRI's, physical therapy, time away from work and any other commitments or activities that may be affected with your decision to not race smart or to race in the first place.

But I think I am getting better. I'll just take it easy.
It's easy to get wrapped up in the race environment and not take it easy. Secondly, your definition of easy may be masked with pain relievers as you may be on the verge of healing but it will only take a matter of minutes or miles to put you back where you were before....if not worse. I have a two day rule. If you are experiencing an injury or pain, wait until you are 100% to assess your status if you should race or train again. Once you are 100%, wait two more days to be on the safe side. If you are 100% again after 2 days, you are good to go. If you are still questioning that lingering ache that won't go away or that is keeping your brain active thinking about whether or not you are healed or  not? Then you aren't ready to race or train again.

But I carbo-loaded or I am worried about my weight.
Simple. Consider not exercising for the next 2-3 months and that will answer your questions if it is really worth it to feel frustrated with your current diet routine or body image and to be even more disrespectful to your body by racing injured only to burn calories. How about thanking your body for all the good workouts OR if you have been struggling with injuries, consider evaluating whether you are eating to train or training to eat.

But I just really want to do it.
Really? Just for a t-shirt and a medal? Consider your racing career. Do you see yourself racing for the next 20 years or do you think only race by race...just trying to get yourself to the next starting line? Keep in mind that your body is impacted in some negative way, every time you take a chance racing or training with an injury. You can only take so many chances before you will experience long-term consequences for your actions. Sure, you  may be tough as nails and with a pain threshold that is unlike anyone else. Is it really worth it to explain to your family and friends that you are sad, depressed and emotionally drained that it was completely within your ability to take a few minutes to weigh the consequences  instead of coming up with a million excuses as to why you had  to do the race? Keep in mind that when you are injured, it affects everyone. Your family, your children, your pets, your boss/employees....everyone. There is a reason why you love doing what you do.

Your active lifestyle makes you feel amazing, healthy and well. Three things that can not be achieved with an injured body.

So, do you have time for an injury?
Make the right call. It's not worth it.

Appreciate the little things

It's funny how life can give you good days and bad days. As for me, I have seen better days in the past 2 weeks. Ever since the Miami Marathon, where I hurt my foot, I have found myself to not be as energetic, positive and excited for life. For the past 2 weeks, something very important to me has been missing. I have never considered myself a person who has had an addiction to anything (well, maybe besides a wonderful cup of coffee and American Idol on tues and wed. nights!), but training and racing triathlons has been my addiction for the past 2 years. I find joy, happiness and enthusiasm in my sport. I wake up excited to train and finish a training session with the mindset that I can't wait to train again. Yes-I consider myself very lucky to feel so passionate when I beat up my body for over 15 hours a week. Whether I'm getting up at 5am to prepare myself for a 4 hour bike ride, swimming redundant laps in a YMCA swimming pool or running on the treadmill for a grueling hour of almost "throw-up" worthy speed intervals, I absolutely crave training for triathlons. And don't even get me started about racing!So, while it may be an addiction, I could not imagine doing anything more healthy for my body, mind and heart. Triathlons have taught me how to appreciate the finer things in life, such as time-mangement, budgeting/saving money (race fees, expensive equipment, travel, etc.), patience and more so, a great appreciation for my body.
Speaking of which...
I just got back from the doctor and it appears that I have strong calves, a weak achilles, I'm a major pronator (nothing new) and I have tarsal tunnel syndrome. As far as the diagnosis, nothing major that a "perscription" ibuprofen for 7 days/ 2x day won't solve ;) Gotta love the meds. Hopefully with some salt baths, ice after training, continuous stretching and a good dosage of pills, I will be back and running in less than two weeks. As far as cycling and swimming (which I haven't done in 4 days!), I am preparing myself for making up for lost training time. OK-so I won't go crazy with my training, but I'm excited to get back to a normal schedule.
For those who may be injured, train through injuries or have never been injured, let my experience be a lesson to really appreciate what you do, everytime you do it. Maybe you complain at times because training causes many uncomfortable aches and pains, but listen to your body even if you are at mile 19.5 of a marathon. Being an athlete does not ensure a license for stubborness and stupidity and to think that you can just "run" through pain. If anyone knows me well, I want to post-pone a long run when I have a blister on my toe. Even with 12 body piercings, one Ironman Tattoo and a 11-hour Ironman finish, I am a major wuss when it comes to pains and aches. But, to justify my complaining, I actually enjoy training. And, most of that is because I always train and race injury free. Secondly, I never feel overtrained.
Although I try to listen to my body when I am feeling tired, sore or achy, I now know that what I do is a big part of my life and I want to do it forever.
I am a triathlete and I appreciate the little things in life.
*Especially all the tendons, nerves and fibers in my right foot that have been causing me pain and unhappiness for the past week!
As I head out to Bradenton this weekend to help with a triathlon clinic, featuring Hunter Kemper and Luc Morrin, I will carry a smile on my face knowing that I am surrounded by many athletes who feel exactly the way I feel about this sport. What a great feeling!
To everyone who has offered concerned for me, for the past week or so, thank you for caring for me. It's nice to have great people in my life. Thanks for the support, to all my loving friends.