Friday, May 20, 2011

Deleted but Not Out

I had to make the final decision to withdraw from the Masters Track and Field World Championship competition, a decision I was still dimly hoping I wouldn't have to make.  Now when I perouse the registration status of my events, I no longer see my name.  I officially withdrew and have been deleted.  With just a bit over a month to go before the meet, I still am not able to manage any type of quality run, and a lesser run leaves me limping for several days thereafter.  The timing of injuries will always and forever baffle me.

I won't deny that I am fully disappointed, but in the back of my mind I ponder that I may have other opportunities along these lines in the future.  Afterall, I am now a proud owner of a U.S. Olympic competition uniform and a member of USATF, and I have a sweet renewed interest in track and field competition which happens to be quite popular in Santa Barbara.

I am now focusing on training smart, though most of it comes in the form of cross-training.  I was attempting to run approximately every other day (only able to do about 3 runs per week), but even that plan has proved to be too much.  I had a nice, though painful 8 mile run last Saturday, and followed it up with a harder 6+ mile run on Monday, but have been in pain ever since.  So I refrained from the ground and hit the elliptical and water all the more but with some amount of frustration and anger.  If I am able to manage it, I will go for 10 miles on solid ground tomorrow.  That's just to maintain my sanity I think.

When random people see me limp (and trust me, I try not to limp) and ask why, my explanation it seems is always met with "advice."  Some will say, "Oh, you should try icing it."  Yah!  Duh!  Others will say, "Ohhhhh.  Gee I'm sorry.  Do you think it's ruptured?  Be careful."  Whatever!!  The one that hit me this week was, "Oh, those are bad.  You know you can't train through that.  You have to let it heal."  I let them know of my 6 week lay-off which left me no more healed than the day it happened.  I have had a San Diego running partner, ultra-marathoner genius, recommend and offer a trip to his therapist whom he swears by.  At my first opportunity I hope to try and see, and pray for a miracle.  Thank you for that Mike!

Anyway ... more than ever, I hate seeing people run when I can't.  And I despise the pain that plagues me when I try.  Feeling a bit like Achilles.  Is it not the most ironic and bizarre revelation that the Achilles tendon was named after the mythological hero Achilles who's only weakness was his "heel." 

I'm thankful for a strong training partner and coach in John.  He is the epitome of positive and keeps the swim workouts nice and hard, and inspires me with his growth as a runner.  I haven't even had the opportunity to lament the inadequacy of swimming in comparison to running.  The swims have just been so good and I've been able to stay fit.  I've recently added the elliptical into my routine and have found that an interval session on that bad boy can get my heart rate up to 170 bpm.  Drippy, drippy, sweaty, sweaty.  In time I will spend more time on the solid ground, but until then, plastic/metal, and H2O will suffice.  It could always be worse, right?

I've been deleted from the competition, but I'm far from out.

6 comments:

  1. I've got you, Cindy! Don't forget to let me know when you'll be back in town so I can get it set up. Hey, it's worth a shot, right? You won't be disappointed.

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  2. Sorry to hear Cindy! :( I feel exactly the same when I watch people run. I'm drooling over the paths in the Douglas Preserve when I walk our dog. I have the same feeling about running going forward. I have a feeling I'm going to HAVE to cross train intermittently, forever, if I want to keep running long term. I guess it's a new relationship with running. In the meantime, me and the elliptical are best of friends...

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  3. Hi Cindy,
    Sorry to hear that things are not moving along as quickly as you would like them to but I have always found that the body wants to heal so it will figure a way eventually. I am dealing with my own demon right now but fortunately it is not my Achilles. This time. When I did tweak my Achilles I found that the jets from the hot tub were very therapeutic. I am sure you are an expert on all things Achilles these days but as you know, the blood flow to that tendon is not very strong. I figured the combination of the heat and the pressure from the jet would help to force the blood to move in there to speed up healing. I always would go back and forth from hot to cold to get the blood flowing in there. Anyways,everybody is different but it did work for me. I'll be rooting for you.
    Brian

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  4. Hey Brian - I know you've had your share of injury challenges too and I truly appreciate your advice. I will try to do more contrasting to increase blood flow. The good thing is I am going in the right direction as it is slowly getting better - just like last time :)

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  5. Hey Celeste, I wish you were feeling better by now, but since misery loves company, I'm also glad to have an addicted runner feeling the same way I am :) You are awesome and amazing and I know you are getting better day by day. Ugh! The dreaded Elliptical (Elli). We'll be back in the races soon.

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  6. Hi Mike! It's definitely worth a shot especially if you have had such good results. As much as you stress your body with amazingly long trail miles, you have stayed smart and healthy, and I'm guessing your therapist person is partly due credit. I will be in touch and I hope you know how much I appreciate your help!! I was able to do the 10 miler today and was thankful to feel the ground under my feet. Yep!

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