BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS »

Friday, October 02, 2009

Not dead...really

So, for those who aren't on facebook (mom), probably wondering what the Hell happened to me, I'm still alive. Found out on Monday that I had torn my hamstring at the origin (biceps femoris, to be specific). Note that this MRI was done nearly 6 weeks after the injury so it was probably much worse initially than what showed. I am extremely disappointed but relieved to know exactly what the problem is - makes rehabbing and goal-setting easier. I'm sure now, after doing some research, how this happened. I think that I was totally overtrained and my quads had been really shot for weeks - probably more than I should feel is "normal" for IM training. But, being the overachiever and driven individual I am, I chose to ignore and push through this. I've read that when the quads, main cycling and running muscles, get overdone, the other, smaller muscles get recruited and may or may not be able to handle the load. My hammies are relatively weak, something I've known, and took the brunt. Felt a twinge on the last long run (that I ignored completely) and pushed on. Bad idea and the beginning of my demise. One day, running 7:30's on my last long brick, the next, can't run 1/2 mile. The log tells all and, if I had a coach, I would have been told to back off way before. The complications of being a self-coached athlete. So, fast forward to now. I haven't been able to run for 7 weeks now. My ortho said likely 8-12 weeks for me. Note, I am pain-free mostly with swimming and cycling, thank God - my only source of therapy other than the grappa! So, riding power cranks with no pain - actually riding these better than I ever thought possible for me (the mind is amazing). I'm thinking/hoping this will make transition back to running easier, we'll see. Riding regular bike too and swimming. My swimming has come back to me also in the pool - the other "sign" I was overcooked was I couldn't swim worth shit during the summer, just plain drained. I've learned alot. I'm not 25 anymore and have to take recovery days - very hard for someone who loves to train (and has a stressful job/needs the release)! I do have the IM 70.3 World Championships here in November and I plan to at least do the swim and bike. If I can run some, I'll give it a go but my ortho told me the last thing to come back is fast running (and don't re-injure and go through this all over). Great, in a World Championship race and no fast running - should be a humbling experience! Well, I earned this and will embrace it fully and be thankful that I have qualified for this race - a feat that is no longer easy (I couldn't qualify last year). So, I'll keep updating to anyone who wants to know. Onward and I'm not giving up just getting stronger!
Cheers

1 comments:

Toni said...

At least you now know the source of the problem ,, and now on to the healing process!!