Tuesday, August 15, 2017

This is not the end

As recently as a month ago, I really thought my racing career was over.

When I suffered from a back injury which sidelined me from late 2014 through spring 2015, I knew it would take time and a great deal of physical therapy; but I was certain there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  Not only did I return, I was stronger, leaner and faster than ever.

But this year, with what I suspect was either a gluteal or piriformis strain (or both) that took months to heal, followed by a recurring, sharp and severe pain in my leg that the clueless doctors at Vanguard Medical Group in Verona could not identify (though the thieving swine charged me $150 to tell me I should just rest it), it felt like the end of my racing days.  Sure, I could get out there and trot some miles for maintenance and weight control, but speedy racing?  Forget it.  Over.  Done.  Fin.

On the other hand, nothing motivates me more than someone telling me I can not or should not do something.  The quack told me to rest and take Advil, so I did exactly the opposite.  I took no medication, and still went out there and ran on my bad leg, often in agony.  But I pushed through it.  Active recovery.  And you know what?  With each successive run, I pushed the pace a little more (reducing my pace from 9-minute miles down to sub-7s) and increased the mileage gradually (to as much as 16 miles!) and each time, it hurt a little less.

So Gloria and I registered for a half-marathon for September.  I still use the Hal Higdon training program, which calls for shorter races midway through, so a 10K was on the schedule for this past weekend.  On Thursday, Gloria found the Storm King 10K, which is organized by the West Point-Highland Falls Rotary and takes place at West Point Military Academy in Highlands, N.Y.  On Friday, we registered.  Sunday, we raced.




No comments:

Post a Comment