Patience

(Trying out paddle boarding)

            It has been awhile since my last update. Mainly because I am taking a lot of down time so running wise I have not been up to much as of late. July 20^th was my last race of the outdoor season. I then proceeded to take a couple weeks of zero running and no “cross training.” I played a lot, doing things like jumping off diving boards, wake boarding, attempting to play tennis, softball, etc. but I did not schedule any “exercise” sessions throughout my day. My goal was to get my right Achilles and left knee feeling pain free before starting to train again.

(Awesome tennis group)

            After a couple weeks rest I started to do some spinning and swimming along with some really light easy running. I noticed the pain in my Achilles and knee were still there. It would go away during my run but I did not like the fact that the nagging pains were still with me.

            I could run through the discomfort but since it is another 4 years until the next Olympic Trials I am playing it safe right now. I went to Neil Chasan, my PT at Sports Reaction Center on Wednesday August 22^nd to get the injuries diagnosed. I had started running again the week before and after leaving SRC was back to no running. My left knee has Chondromalasia, which basically means I am having a tracking issue in my knee that is causing my patella to grind against my femur. This is causing a lot of pain in my knee. It is also causing a softening of my patella. Long term this is not good but as of right now I have not done anything irreversible to the knee.

            I was born with extremely flat feet and extra bones in my ankles so some of these issues are due to my bio mechanics. I have some exercises that I can do to help with my alignment and Orthotics I should be wearing. I have gone back and forth from using Orthotics and not and using motion control shoes and not. After experimenting over the years I have discovered that I have some issues that cannot be fixed by getting stronger. My feet are the way they are. Each time my foot hits the ground I have extra stretch on my Achilles and if you travel up my leg it also causes extra stress on my knee by pulling it different ways.

            I am not usually an advocate of huge motion control shoes or Orthotics but there are definitely certain situations that warrant the use of them. I run a lot so the amount of times my feet strike the ground adds up.  If I can toe the line without pain running in the heavier shoes will be worth it!

(My summer of burgers)

            So now I am looking at another few weeks of rest and cross training. I have been struggling with the whole cross training part. If I am not running it is hard for me to get into the gym, pool or lake to cross train. I guess I am lazy when it comes to that. Plus it’s the summer and I am easily distracted by other things, bar-b-q? Be right over! Wake boarding? Yeah that counts as cross training! I also have been trying to re-evaluate things in my life and figure out the next logical step for Levi and me.

(Hanging on the boat with Sasha)

             It isn't always easy for me to be patient especially when I hear about a competition happening nearly every weekend near me. I do have small doubts creep into my mind as to whether or not I will ever get back to where I was or if I will ever be able to "get fit" again. But I have the support and logic of those around me to keep me sane. I also think back to 2008 when I had a major surgery and struggled to walk a mile for nearly a month and I came back and had the best outdoor season of my life up to that point.

              Life is an adventure and right now I am o.k. with taking it a day at a time and not stressing about my so called “missed training.” If anything this will help me be ready to survive the next four years both mentally and physically in the sport I love and be able to take successes, failures, and focus shifts without going crazy.

(Wake boarding on Lake Washington)