'Works-For-Me' Wednesday

You may have noticed I have started this week off with daily blogs... Motivational Monday, Tuesday’s Testimonial, and now WORKS FOR ME Wednesday...  In an effort to share some of what makes me tick, I have decided to post daily, but only if I have something to say... Which, if you are one of my friends on facebook, I always seem to have something to say...

So, on to Works For Me Wednesday... Each week I will share things that work for me when I fund raise, train, work, deal with life, deal with injuries, you name it… nothing is off limits.  Well, there may be a few things I will not share here (this blog does have a PG rating, after all…).

In this edition (I say in my best voice-over impression from Entertainment Tonight) I want to talk about what worked for me when I was dealing with a pretty serious injury in 2009.  I have actually had this conversation twice this week, so I thought, why not share this with everyone all at once. 

Let’s set the stage… In 2009, I was 38 and somewhat new to running.  As you may know from my “All You Ever Wanted to Know” tab above, I did not join Team in Training because I one day woke up with a need to torture myself running long distances: I joined to make a difference, to help a cause, and to honor my beautiful niece battling ALL.  I joined Team in Training for one season (which happens to be the longest season ever lasting almost 2 entire years now) to run the Disney Half Marathon. After three weeks of training, I was convinced to run all three events offered that Winter Season: Women’s Half (Nov), Palm Beach Half (Dec), Disney’s Full (Jan).  

After the Women’s half I started to have pain in my left knee (the one I have had several surgeries on in the past).  I saw my doctor who said I needed to rest but to be safe he ordered an MRI due to previous history.  The MRI showed a posteromedial tibial plateau contusion, or bone bruise.  Not thinking anything of it, since it is “just a bruise,” my doctor and I discussed my next event and how I would be able to run if I was still having pain.  He gave me a shot of cortisone (BAD IDEA #1) on Friday and I started the Palm Beach Half Marathon on Sunday (BAD IDEA #2).

It was about Mile 4 when I let my friends head on without me because I was experiencing pain.  I slowed down, but continued to run.  By mile 5 when I caught up with two of my coaches, I was in tears.  Did I stop, no! (BAD IDEA #3) I kept running, and walking, and running…  From mile 5 to mile 9, Mr Personality (Coach Stan) actually ran, walked, and talked to me the entire way.  (For those who know Stan, you know how much of an effort it was for him to stay with me for 4 miles through all this.)

In the end, I decided to walk off the course at mile 9 rather than face the possibility of never running again; not to mention not being able to run Disney’s Full Marathon.  This was the BEST IDEA I had all day, or even all week; quite possibly ever, given I can still run.

To make this long story short, I am going to cut to the chase.  I hear from so many who love to run so when they are injured, they don’t like to rest.  Mr. Personality told me that day “You are well trained, your body won’t forget, REST!”  He was right.  

Here is what worked for me…  I did not just rest, I went to the extreme.  I put myself on crutches for four weeks.  I wanted to still run Disney.  Although I did participate in Disney’s Full Marathon in 2010 (yes, the coldest year ever for a marathon in Florida), I did not run the 26.2 miles.  I walked.  (Maybe jogged from time to time, but for the most part, I walked.)  This was part of my therapy.  I took four more weeks off of running after Disney.  I started back to training in February and two weeks later ran my best half marathon (at that point) at Fort Lauderdale A1A.  Then two weeks after that, I ran another personal best half marathon at Disney’s Princess Half.  You see, REST works!!!  And your body will not forget your training.

This week, I had two friends, older than me and recently into running, tell me they were experiencing issues with knees.  Both described almost exactly what I had been experiencing in 2009.  Bad news, folks… There is no miracle cure for a bone bruise.  Just time and, yes you guessed it, REST.  So take it easy.  Take a week or two off.  Start back slow and let the body heal.  I promise you, it wont kill you to not run. 

Keep in mind, resting an injury is not an excuse to stop being active.  You just need to give that body part a chance to heal.  In the mean time, try working on your core which will certainly help your running form.  Abdominal and Back exercises are the best.  If you get bored, try the pool.  The pool is great for “weightless” exercise and super easy on the joints.  Just be mindful of your limited cardio and try not to pack on the weight.  That will only aggravate the situation.  (Mr Personality was not so nice when he said that to me... more like.. Just don't get fat!)

So, tell me… What works for you when faced with an injury during a season of training?