The Blessings of an Injury

The title of today's post comes from Wendy Mogel's books The Blessings of a Skinned Knee and The Blessings of a B-minus. This post was also inspired by a chat that I had a few days ago with a Facebook friend about how injuries can actually be a blessing in disguise.

Being injured is no fun. The worst thing about being injured isn't the physical pain. Ibuprofen or Voltaren and ice can take care of that, or at least make it more bearable. It isn't non-runners telling you that being injured is the natural consequence of participating in a sport that's "bad for women." Most of those people have no credibility with me because they don't exercise at all, so I just ignore them. No, the very worst thing about being injured is seeing someone running down the street and wanting nothing more than to be able to do that too. Whenever that feeling came over me when I was "out of commission," I had to tell  myself that I would be back running soon enough with proper rest and a slow comeback. Eventually my rational side would win and I would come back even stronger.

My late running partner Bill used to tell me that running injuries were caused by: 1) trying to increase speed too quickly, 2) trying to increase mileage too quickly, 3) not enough rest/recovery time after a big race, and 4) a combination of the first three things. When I look back on the injuries that I have had, I realize that he is right. All of the injuries that I have had were caused by one or more of those things.

Even though we don't realize it, injuries are really a blessing in disguise. They make you more appreciative of being able to run. Before I had my first knee injury, back in 1992, I took it for granted that I would always be able to run. After that injury, I realized that my ability to run was something that I could easily lose, which made me appreciate it more. Every day that I run injury-free is a real gift that I do my best not to squander.

Injuries have also made me slow down and think about why I started running in the first place. Most of my injuries were from trying to push the speed envelope. I then have to remind myself that I didn't take up running just because I wanted medals, trophies, plaques and personal records in every race. I run because I like to be outdoors exploring new places and seeing what there is to see. Sometimes it's best to slow down and see what would otherwise go unnoticed. Running is also a great way to keep fit and it keeps me young. It's something that I want to do for my whole life. The worst thing would be to push myself into a "career-ending" injury. OK, I also run so that I can eat ice cream and chocolate, but that's another story.

Another benefit of injuries is that they are a way of forcing you to correct errors. As Dr. Phil would say about a training plan that resulted in an injury, "How is that working for you?" Something obviously wasn't working, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten injured. Being down from an injury gives an athlete time to evaluate what went wrong and how to correct in in the future. For example, when I ran the Berlin Marathon in 1994, I had a very brutal training plan. It was to the point where the month before the race I couldn't wait for it to be over with so that I could rest. During the last third of that marathon one of my knees was really hurting. I walked a lot in the last 10 kilometers and was so glad to cross the finish line. After that race it took two months before I could run slowly for 20 minutes because of the knee injury. When it came time to train for the 2007 Munich Marathon, I looked back on what I did for Berlin and decided I needed a much different training plan that incorporated a combination of long runs and total rest days. Munich 2007 was a lot of fun and I came out of it with a personal record and some muscle soreness that went away after a few days.

I have been relatively lucky with regard to major injuries. In the past I had a couple of knee injuries which prevented me from running for more than a month. But with time and patience, I was back on the trails and stronger and wiser than before. That's not bad at all for over 20 years of running and racing. I  have tendinitis in my knees, but know to increase my mileage very slowly in order to avoid it flaring up. Now the only time my tendinitis acts up is when it's time to get new shoes. Last year I had problems with calf cramps, but they seem to have (thankfully) disappeared. I also have tight hamstrings and use my massage stick on them after every run. This year I am feeling good and am seriously considering running the Munich Marathon this October.  I'll train smarter, and not harder, and will hopefully stay injury-free.

Recovery Mode

The recovery from my latest half-marathon is going slowly. The ongoing problem with my right hamstring decided to flare up after the race. During the race it didn't bother me at all. But afterward....Ouch! A big part of the problem is that I never really let it heal all the way after my half-marathon last October. Now I'm taking it easy and gradually increasing my kilometers. If I go slowly it doesn't bother me. My plan is to take things easy and really let that muscle recover. While I would usually be getting back to full workouts at this point after a half-marathon, I'm only running for 30 minutes at a fairly slow pace. When I can go 30 minutes and not feel anymore aches in my butt (top of the hamstring) or the back of my thigh, then I'll increase my mileage and pace.

When an injury occurs, that's the body's way of saying to take a break. I've been doing a lot of hard training for the past four years. In that time I've run 5 half-marathons, a full marathon, and other races at shorter distances. Now it's time for a little break. I know that it's temporary and that I'll soon be chomping at the bit to do another long race. But it would be great to be totally pain free. I'll also do some cross-training, like hiking or cycling, in order to stay in shape but let my hamstring rest.

I don't really have any big race plans for the rest of the year. There's a 5K in San Diego that I may do when I'm there next month. I can sign up on race day, so I'll make the decision to run it at the last minute. It will depend if I'm still jet lagged, the weather, and my plans for that day. Another race that I'm thinking about doing is an October 10K in Wolfratshausen, which is about halfway between Garmisch and Munich. It looks fairly flat, which is good because I haven't been training as much in the hills compared to previous years.

Even if I don't do anymore races this year, I'll still run for the joy of it. The important thing is getting my right hamstring back to 100% fitness and being able to run without aches or pains. I plan to be the old lady at races who everyone beats but is still admired for still being able to run. In the grand scheme of things, a short break will help my future performances and get me to the finish line when I'm 95 years old.

My Mojo is Back

Now that my calf injuries have healed, I've been starting to build my distance again. I'm up to about 6 km on my shorter runs and 7-8 on my longer ones. I've been good about slowly increasing my mileage to avoid reinjury. Even though the ice where I run has all melted, I have still been (at least by my standards) excruciatingly slow. Like Austin Powers, I had lost my mojo. But I found it today on a 6 km flat run. I normally run that route in about 32 minutes. When peaking for races, I have even run it in under 31:30. Today's time was 32:09, which was about 1.5 minutes faster than my time on that same route last week. That's my "normal"  time, so I'm happy that my speed is back. I was a bit worried that my speed wouldn't come back, but it has. 

Maybe the cross-training that I did this week helped with the speed. I rode my bike to work three days in the past week. Cycling to work isn't exactly a great aerobic workout because my work is so close to my house. But I'm getting fresh air and a little bit of exercise that I wouldn't get from driving. I also did the elliptical trainer in the gym yesterday because it was raining heavily. I've gotten back into doing my post-run Pilates routine, which benefits my posture. Maybe the Pilates was also a factor in the speed and mojo coming back.

Now it's time to start incorporating some hill work. I haven't done any in a while because of being injured. But the skiing that I've done this season has helped to strengthen my quads. I don't expect to have too much trouble with hills once I get back to running them. I'm one of those rare people who loves running hills. One of my favorite races is the San Dieguito Half-Marathon, which has a lot of rolling hills. Most people groan or swear when they see a hill on a course map. I give a little cheer because hill running has always been one of my strengths.

Ski season here is pretty much over, which means getting back to my four days a week of running. We're due for more spring-like weather, which means being able to shed a layer or two. I feel like the Michelin Man's wife when I'm in my full winter running gear. I'm looking forward to being able to run in my shorts.

I'm still undecided on whether I'll do the Munich City Run Half-Marathon in June. I have over three months to decide. I'll evaluate where I'm at in May and take it from there. If I opt not to do the City Run, I may do some local races in the 5 to 10 km range for a change of pace. Or maybe this year I won't race at all and just run for the joy of it.

Injury Status

I've been writing more about life than running lately. That's because there hasn't been anything noteworthy going on with my running. A couple of months ago I hurt my left calf muscle. As soon as it healed, I hurt the same muscle in my right leg. That has finally healed and now I'm back to normal again. It has been about a two month span between the time I got the first injury and when the second finally healed.

The one good thing about both injuries is that I was able to ski and walk without any problems, which meant that I got some exercise. Now I'm up to running between 5 and 6 kilometers at a slow pace. Even though I'm slow, it still feels good to be able to run. The ice and snow that's still on the ground is forcing me into a slower pace, which is preventing another reinjury due to excessive speed. In the last week I've been able to increase my speed in the last 200 meters of my runs; but I haven't done my usual full sprint. I've been running outdoors, but without my ice spikes. I decided not to use my spikes because my injuries happened when I used them.

This is the first time in a long time that I've had an injury that affected my running. I've had problems with hamstrings that cleared up after a day of rest or with using my massage stick. They didn't affect my workout schedule. I'm leaning toward skipping the Munich City Run half-marathon in June. I'll have to see how far I've progressed in the next month or two before making any decisions. I know that the half-marathon that accompanies the Munich Marathon in October will be a no-go because I'll be in the States for 3 to 4 weeks in August and September. Since I tend not to get in much running on my Stateside trips, mainly due to the hot weather, I won't be able to put in the proper amount of training time. That would be the time that I would be doing my longest runs to prepare my body for the rigors of the race. Maybe the timing will be right and I'll find a race to do while I'm in the States.

This coming week will be a running week with no skiing. It's the Fasching break and the ski hills are even more crowded than they are during the Christmas holidays. This will give me a good opportunity to evaluate my injury and fitness status. Hopefully everything will continue to improve.

I'm Healed!

About a month ago I strained a left calf muscle. I did all of the right things after getting injured: rest, ice, massaging the area, and cross-training. It got better, so I started running on the treadmill. Everything was fine until I re-injured it two weeks ago running outdoors. The muscle didn't hurt when I skied, probably because the pressure of the ski boot on the sore spot was like trigger point massage. It was also okay when I used the elliptical trainer at the gym. I went back to a beginning runner's program, starting off with just a few minutes of slow running on the treadmill followed by time on the elliptical trainer. I gradually increased the number of running minutes and decreased the corresponding number of minutes on the elliptical trainer. This past week my leg felt great.

Today the weather was warm and sunny. It was more like April than January. I thought about going to the gym, but just couldn't pass up the opportunity for an ice-free outdoor run. My plan was to run slowly for as long as my leg felt good. As soon as I felt something pulling or any pain, then I would walk. Everything was great today! I ended up running 5 km without any pain. OK, when I got close to my turnaround point, I felt a slight twinge in the muscle, which quickly disappeared. My pace was very slow. It took over 28.5 minutes to run a course that I normally do in around 25. But just being able to run again was such a great feeling. I know that my speed will come back. The important thing is to take it slowly and gradually increase my speed and distance. If I'm going to be on an injury rehab program, this is the best time because it isn't racing season. I'll have a few months to work my way back into racing form.

When the weather is on the cool side, I tend to go too fast. That is probably how I reinjured my leg--I ran outside on a very cold day and was trying to get warm quickly. I overdressed a little bit this morning so that I wouldn't be tempted to go fast in order to warm up. My plan worked because I kept a slow pace the whole time, though I was faster on the return leg of my out-and-back course. I'm glad that I was able to cross-train by skiing and using the elliptical trainer. It would have been much worse if I couldn't do anything at all. But best of all, I'm happy that my leg has finally healed.

It's amazing how our bodies tell us that we need to slow down and take it easy. My late running partner Bill used to tell me that injuries were caused by three things: 1) increasing mileage too quickly or too much mileage,  2) excessive speed or increasing speed too quickly, and 3) both 1 and 2. I'll add a fourth thing to Bill's list: not enough rest or down time. I know that I haven't really been taking much down time. Perhaps this injury was my body's way of telling me to take a little break from running. Our bodies are wonderful things, though we don't always want to listen to what they're telling us.

Arjen Robben and Me

The Dutch football (soccer) player Arjen Robben and I have something in common. What could it be? He's a man and I'm a woman, so that's not it. I have a thick head of hair and he's bald. Arjen is 26 and I'm.................a little bit older. He's one of the best football players in the world and I'm a middle of the pack runner. So what can Arjen and I possibly have in common? The answer is that we both have hamstring problems.  Arjen tore his hamstring during a pre-World Cup practice match, while mine has been bothering me for the last month or so. I'll have to figure out how Arjen recovered enough to be able to play in the later matches of the World Cup. I would think that the stopping, starting, and diving in football (Arjen is a big-time diver) would be worse on a hamstring than running at a steady pace. 

My injury is funny. The muscle is very tight during my first kilometers of running. I have to go very slowly or it will bother me. Once I get past the first couple of kilometers it loosens up and the rest of my run is fine. When I do long runs, I walk instead of stopping to drink. Stopping tightens the muscle again. It doesn't bother me after a run except when I overdo it. I've tried all kinds of things to get it to heal properly. Like the old ads for Wisk detergent and "Ring Around the Collar" ("you've tried soaking them out and scrubbing them out and you've still got ring around the collar"), I've tried stretching, rest, cross-training, massage with my hands, and using my massage stick. I'd really like to have my hamstring at 100% fitness before the Munich half-marathon in October. I've pretty made up my mind that I'd like to do the half-marathon that accompanies the Munich Marathon. 

Onto the World Cup....what's with the players wearing girls' headbands? A lot of people out there already think that football is a gay sport because of all of the dives and fake injuries with their accompanying theatrics. I used to wear those types of headbands when I was in elementary school. They were good for keeping hair out of my face. I'm sure the players wear those headbands for that reason. But you'd think they'd find something a little more masculine. 

I'll be cheering for Uruguay, even though I think that the Netherlands will beat them tonight. I always like to cheer for underdog teams. Even with his girlie headband, Uruguay's Diego Forlan is "easier on the eyes" than the Dutch duo of Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben (I guess I shouldn't say that about Arjen if I want to know his injury recovery secrets). That's as good a reason as any to cheer for Uruguay. Uruguay is a country of just 3.5 million people and the only South American team to make the semi-finals. Germany is storming through the elimination rounds and looks like the team to beat for the overall title. They should beat Spain tomorrow night, though Paul the match-predicting octopus says that Spain will win. Paul has predicted Germany's wins and losses in this World Cup with 100% accuracy (and was 80% accurate in the 2008 European Championships). But Spain would win easily if the match was decided by which team had the best looking players. Both matches should be interesting, whether or not the teams with the better looking players win. Maybe Arjen will block out the pain in his sore hamstring and score the winning goal for the Dutch.