How many times have you heard the phrase, “injury recovery is not linear?” If you’re like me, quite a few times. And you give a small sigh and resigned nod, “I know” and promise you’ll be patient. Injured athletes know this and secretly hope that this time it’ll be different. I’ve been battling an injury…
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Are You An Injured Runner? It’s Going To Be Okay.
Read moreIt’s been over 17 weeks since Javelina (but who’s counting?) And I’ve been healing from one of my patented Vague Soft Tissue Injuries ®, that take forever to heal. Immediately post-race I had a strain in my left tensor fasciae latae that made even walking extremely painful. For those unfamiliar, the TFL is a small…
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8 Things Every Runner Needs to Know About Physical Therapy
Read moreWe all know that going to WebMD when something hurts is a terrible idea. But do we do it anyway? Of course. Let’s be honest, nothing good comes out of that. Searching “knee pain after running” will leave you with the alarming impression that you have kneecap cancer and your leg is going to fall…
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The Challenge for an Injured Runner: Patience or Persistence?
Read moreRunning injuries are interesting (in an abstract sort of way) in how they so easily can throw off an athlete. I don’t think I’m alone in this, but when I’m dealing with an injury, I feel off-balance. Like a table missing a leg. As a strong, determined woman of action, my response is to fix…
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The Emotions of Injury: My Internal Dialogue
Read moreI think every runner knows the feeling. You’re running merrily along and all of a sudden you feel a zing of pain. It might be in your knee, ankle, shin, hip, whatever. You think, at first, huh, that’s weird. I’m sure that was an anomaly. Must have stepped wrong. Then you continue on and the pain…
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A Lovely Little Run at Deception Pass State Park
Read moreIt’s been a few weeks since my last post, and like many people, I’ve been swept up in all of the insanity extra things that the holiday season brings. More fun social events, more obligations, more excuses to eat cookies, less daylight, and the slightly dazed feeling that you’re on a sparkly, carol-blasting, cookie-driven ride…
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Reflection on Injury: Patience, Presence, and Grit (or lack thereof)
Read moreI’ve probably started and deleted this post a half dozen times already. What news to share when the healing process feels glacially slow? (For a reference, it’s now been 11 weeks since the initial pain in my leg began and 7 weeks since I started physical therapy.) I doubt you really want to hear me gripe on…
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Balm for the Soul
Read moreThe past few weeks at work have been very busy and tiring. Not bad, just…exhausting. Everyone had reached the end of their rope and we were hanging on by our fingernails. So, a long weekend did not come amiss! Really, all I wanted to do was either go sit on a mountaintop by myself or…
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Injury as a Learning Opportunity…
Read moreMentally, this post-race/post-Scotland has been a strange time for me. Post-race blues are not unusual in the least, and it’s even somewhat expected. As I am a very goal-oriented person, not having a big hairy goal way out in the future is unsettling for me. (But… but… I need to plan!) I need something concrete to aim for…
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North Olympic Discovery Marathon – DNS
Read moreIsn’t it interesting how the body can surprise you? Five weeks ago I completed a 53 mile race and I felt incredibly strong. Three weeks ago there was an alarming amount of mucus coming out of my face (just a cold), so I didn’t run in order to rest up from my Scottish largy. Then…
