Lessons in Injury, Growth, and Perspective

Sometimes the comeback feels so far away, but each day is a chance to learn something new.

I wondered how to start this blog. I haven’t really felt myself the last couple of months. Two big holidays, new role at work and an injury off the back of it.

I’ve been incredibly open about being upfront with mental health, and yesterday I had to delete Strava, because I felt it was having a deep negative impact.

While Strava can be good for people and is a nice way to stay connected within the running community, I want to stress the deletion came off the back of self comparison, and not much of anyone else.

I was getting daily reminders about comparisons to months before, and what I did last year, it was slowly eating away at my self confidence being reminded I’m nowhere near as fit as I was last year.

If there was some glimmer that Bondi 2 Manly in late October was looking like a reality, then I’m only seeing flickers of it. I won’t know to what degree I’ve made in terms of recovery from my injury until I see my physio on Wednesday.

Basically, after a couple of runs the week prior, I was given a week off running because my adductors became too inflamed, causing me to walk a bit funny and offsetting a bit of the work I have been doing to try and get back into more regular running.

It’s a frustrating cycle which I hope to break, or more I have to break because without having an outlet to relieve stressors in my life I just feel I’m becoming more frustrated and frustrated.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this, I was supposed to be deep in preparation coming off the Kowen Marathon, into an easy week, I mean I did get the easy week, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for.

In the end it is what it is, and I’ve accepted that I have to do the little exercises, they are the building blocks that will help me have some semblance of running later in the year, if there is to be any at all.

It’s a good lesson going forward to just target one race in each half of the year, and work to something that way, otherwise something like this is just going to keep reoccurring. I also wouldn’t recommend four long flights overseas in a month, but that’s a story for another day.

Lessons from being Injured

Perhaps my biggest lesson from being injured is that stretching and regular core strength work is a must if I’m going to run ultras going forward. It’s understood my injury is placing too much stress on my adductors, being caused by multiple imbalances across my legs, lower back and core.

Without enough flexibility or strength, some areas are overworked and this is where the problems are happening. So if I had any advice it would be to do regular core work and stretching.

My other lesson is that being injured is incredibly lonely. I was a regular running solo in the first 18 months of my journey, but running regularly with groups has become a thing for the most recent part of the journey.

When you’re injured, sure there are people that check in on you, which is great and I would never want that to change, and I’m so thankful to everyone, but in reality I’m losing 9-10 hours of running with people a week, which is quality time where you’re just alone with your thoughts, and when you’re already in a negative headspace, it’s been tough to a degree to work out of it.

Filling the Cup in other ways

Last weekend I was the sweeper for the half marathon at Kowen. It was awesome to give back to such a good community event, I would’ve loved to run what is such a beautiful course, but this was a suitable alternative.

Thank you so much Pam for the opportunity, thank you Martin for the chat and for wonderful timing across the weekend, and it was good to finally meet Rach from UMROC who usually banters with me online about running.

Rob finishes strong

Then Wednesday the most incredible thing happened. I’ve always pondered what it would take to run from one end of the ACT to the other, but I’ve never drawn up a route or thought about the logistics of running at Boboyan Road.

Well, I don’t have to wonder anymore because an incredible mark has been set to chase, while I couldn’t run I was able to follow the last three hours of Rob’s run from border to border, and boy did he make it look easy finishing in 10 hours, 8 minutes and 15 seconds.

Just incredible to see one of my running heroes in action, and then to be able to introduce him at Running for Resilience was a great honour.

Finally this weekend I’ll be cheering on my friend Jess as she runs her sixth marathon for Bravehearts, an incredible woman she’s this week’s episode of the Peak2Soon Podcast.

I’ll also be helping another one of my running heroes in Allicia Heron as she looks to take down the 24-hour event here in Canberra.

Spots for the world’s team for Taipei later this year are heating up, so I can’t wait to take on more knowledge this coming weekend and get an insight into what it takes to red line a 24-hour event.

It ain’t all bad news

For those that think my attitude might seem doom and gloom, it’s not, just brutal honesty without much sugarcoating. But, what I do know is eventually things will get better and I’ll have learnt plenty of lessons, in the meantime I’ve got this little one to look after.

We welcomed Luna on Saturday and she’s settled in seamlessly, even if her big brother has laid down a couple of ground rules. She’s absolutely beautiful and am so thankful to our friend Danielle for allowing us to welcome her into our family.

Thank you again for reading and big love to you all, I hope to see you out on the trails soon.