Week 4 of Ironman training: Injury

Another week in the bag.  I did lower my temperature threshold this week and got outside for my long run, it felt good for being 10 degrees.  There is such a huge difference between the feeling of a treadmill vs the road.  I've read that you should set your treadmill at a 1 degree incline to simulate the resistance of running outside, but even with that I feel much more of a workout when I'm outside.  I keep a close eye on the weather report each week looking for a glimmer of hope that we're getting close to the downside of the winter weather.  If that damn groundhog is right we've got six more weeks...seems like close to 12.

As I'm writing this blog I've got a bag of ice on my calf.  I strained it during swimming this week using the swim fins (how sad is that?).  I've got enough experience with these types of injuries to know that if you don't deal with it right away it's going to get worse or hang around for a long time.  That was a difficult concept for me to accept when I first started running.  I for the longest time had the mentality to just tough it out and get through the pain.  My very first marathon I developed runner's knee and had to take a month off before it got any better.

I'm not looking to write a whoa-is-me post for the week.  This is a minor injury and what I'm sure is the first of many during my training.  My point is that when/if you develop a nagging discomfort somewhere on your body during training do not ignore it or tough  it out.  It has to be one of the most frustrating and difficult things to happen to anyone while training for some athletic event.  Frustrating in accepting that you're no longer invincible in your old age and that your body is something that can easily break down.  Difficult in that you are motivated enough to push your body to the point of failure, but now you have to 100% shut down and let it mend.  It is the only way to get better and get back to training full time, trust me when I say this, there is just no other way.  Accept it, put the same amount of dedication into getting better (ice, elevate, rest, stretch, etc), and be patient.  It also helps to have someone around to pull back the reins on your training and do some clear-headed thinking for you, in my case Jess is great at making sure I don't get back at it too soon.

So suck it up when you're out on the long training runs and feeling tired but shut it down when you feel something isn't quite right!