As I was gearing up for Cascade Crest, which is in less than a week, Owen, John and I did an out and back on the Wonderland Trail. It was awesome! I can hardly wait to do the whole thing. Whenever I am at or on Mt. Rainier, I really feel like I have gone somewhere magical. It's such an amazing place. We were traveling through clouds and sun, snow and rocky shale, sledded down on our bums on the snow in places and saw a mama bear, her cub, a mountain goat and a bunch of marmots.
It seemed like the perfect run post White River and pre CCC100. I was feeling like with all the challenges I have had this year with my leg, I have finally accepted the fact the year with regards to running was not as I hoped it to be, but that I had learned a lot of things about myself, what drives me, how to stay inspired and how to feel the love for running again.
The following Wednesday, just over a week ago, Owen and I take the dogs to Cougar Mt to run an hour or so just to enjoy one of the remaining summer nights at Cougar. I was feeling pretty good, had to stop a few times at the start again, but was feeling pretty good. As we rounded a corner with a few miles to go, Ella turns around and runs towards me and BAM, right into my knee. Ella has a huge head, she is part pit bull and weighs about 65lbs. The impact sent immediate pain up and down my leg. I stopped, sweared and bent over in pain. I could not put any pressure on it for at least 10 minutes. I could not believe my (bad) luck. When I felt I could put pressure on it, I hobbled back to the car. When I got home, I iced it and put Traumeel on it. I have been doing this ever since. Initially, I thought that it was just a funny bone type thing but after I tried to run the next day, I realized that the damage was much more than I had anticipated. I have been to ART therapy a few times and now the swelling has gone down and I can squat without pain. I did not run for a whole week, instead I went swimming and rested, which was not easy. I tried to run last Friday. I went 4 miles and I can honestly say that if Cascade Crest was this weekend, I would not have started. There is no way I could have run 100 miles with that level of discomfort. I worry that if I do it, I will cause more damage to myself. It's a hard thing to decide. I still have a few days to decide what to do which I will measure by trying to run a bit either every day or every other day. I'm about to go out now for a run and I am hoping for the best. As I am processing the possibility that I may not be able to do CCC100, I am realizing that this year is really trying to teach me patience, acceptance among many other things. With this time off, I've experienced a lot of emotions but ultimately, I have come to the conclusion that this setback is a personal disappointment and in the grand scheme of things, I try not to let that disappointment get to far out of balance with the other things that are important to me. Ultimately, you win some and you loss some, that is life. Right?
1 comment:
So sorry to hear about the leg. uhgggg, not good timing. For what it's worth. I was out in 08 for 5 weeks basically zero running before Grand Tetons. I strapped up my knee, taped my quads and ran it. Ice bags ace bandaged to both legs in the end. I finished strong, won the race in CR time. It wasn't a pretty sight but I went in with low expectations and came out on top. No further damage and ready to roll for the next year. Rest up and start. Will be thinking of you!
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