Sticks and Stones may break my bones, and a Year of Halfs might too!

With 9 races down and 5 to go I think it's time to touch on the dark and painful side of our journey. Although running has impacted our lives in more positive ways than we can count... It's not all sunshine and rainbows!

Before Oakville Nutrience Half, Race #9, I was having some pulling on the inside of my knee. After an evaluation this turned out to be pulling caused my excessive IT band tightness, and was putting me at risk of tearing my meniscus. I was told to be cautious, rest, ice, tape, and foam roll as much as humanly possible.

After a week of this routine I had made exceptional progress but expected this to cause me some grief during the next race. Although the pain was minimal during the Oakville race, the pulling came on strong around 12km. I was concerned about the possibility of tearing my meniscus, and took some time out of the race to have Melissa try to loosen up the IT band (with her elbow...Ouch!). We still finished in good spirits with a time of 2:22.

I saw my miracle worker today, Dr. Sapna Sriram, a Chiropractor at Emkiro Clinic in Toronto. Today she did some extensive acupuncture in my hip, IT band, and knee; then followed that up with some Active Release Therapy and a stripping of my IT. It was far from pleasant but with some Advil, Ice, and continuous foam rolling I should be back on track. 

Over the past 8 months Dr. Sapna has effectively been able to minimize the wear and tear caused by our continuous racing with a combination of Acupuncture, ART, Chiropractics, and strengthening exercises. She has also managed to alleviate some chronic ankle and hip pain that I have struggled with for years... She must be an angel! If you live in Toronto and struggle with a chronic injury she's definitely the best around.

http://www.drsapna.com/

The moral of this story is that injuries are inevitable UNLESS you take the time to balance your training schedule with running, strength training, stretching, and recovery. It also doesn't hurt to have a superstar on your team like Dr. Sapna. Take care of your body you only have one!

Until next time :)

- Kaitlin 

Back on Track

Typically, Kaitlin and I write these posts together, adding insight and experiences that the other may not have thought about. Since we're experiencing this "Year of Halfs" together, we figured that we would blog about it together.

Today, I am writing this blog by myself. Not because I'm rebelling, or because Kaitlin and I aren't getting along. Simply because I am.

The past few months have been very difficult for me. As Kaitlin and I completed our 7th Half for 2014, we began a two month "downtime" to give our bodies a bit of a break, and allow us to focus on the preparations for Kaitlins wedding.

At first I though that taking a break was going to be "just what I needed"......I was wrong.

Although I continued to run a few times a week, there was no longer a focus. No longer a goal in sight for me to be excited about. I continued to stay active by teaching Zumba a few times a week, but quickly started to notice that my body was changing. I was bummed out that my fitness levels were deteriorating, but not motivated enough to do anything about it. I'm sure many of you can relate to the downward spiral that can happen when you're feeling like this. My eating habits slowly changed, introducing foods that were once forbidden and occasionally "cheating" on my gluten-free diet . My mood started to change. I felt GROSS.

My wakeup call was the Canadian Evening Half. The same distance that Kaitlin and I had already ran seven times this year, was EXCRUCIATING. My hamstring felt like it was on the verge of tearing. My body felt so tired and heavy. The worst part was that I knew, 100%, that how I was feeling was entirely my fault.How could it get this bad, this quickly?

Following this run, Kaitlin and I spent some time creating a training plan for the second half of our "Year of Halfs". I spent a lot of time looking at the habits I had formed and devising a plan to get back to the way things were a few short months ago. I had to change my frame of mind.

Finally, a few weeks into my re-focused training; I am staring to feel normal again. My energy levels are back, my focus has increased (not only on training, but also life in general). I am putting the appropriate food into my body, to allow me to train and teach and live my life.

This blog post is for anyone who is feeling like I was a few short weeks ago. Forget about all of the bad choices that you made yesterday. Find something to work towards, devise a plan, and do it. Ask for help if you need it. It doesn't have to be fitness based, it can be kicking a bad habit, performing better in school, being a better wife or husband.

And then inspire others to do the same!

Until next time.....
Melissa