On the Mend!

Hi All,

Well things are going better since my last post and I’m confident that I’m on the mend.  All of the health professionals that I have seen so far have said, “quad strain”.  I have thought that for years, but the big question is why?  Without knowing why it’s happening, I can’t prevent it from happening again.  Tomorrow I will get a leg study X Ray done to get the exact distance of my legs which will help to deal with the discrepancy, I will also get a massage this week, focusing on my quads and illiopsoas (which I have learned can cause quad injuries if its too tight).  I will also get another back adjustment and have a professional evaluate me on my bike.  Its really too late for any big changes in my position but this will help to see if I am doing something in that aspect to cause the strain.  I had the very fortunate experience of getting some advice from Scott Jurek, I have worked with him for years via Brooks and sought him out right away when the strain first happened.  He suggested a bunch of quad strengthening exercises and noticed that mine are a bit too week for the events that I do.  It’s amazing, with all of the running, swimming and biking that I do my legs should be that of a thoroughbred on its way to the Kentucky Derby!  I guess squats and such are also very important as they support the pounding.  Coach D has had me in the gym but I guess I just need a bit more due to past injuries causing additional weaknesses.

I ran twice this week and swam a bunch.  I had tons of energy on my run and felt like I could go forever but I need to play it safe right now so I stopped at an hour.  I will get on the bike tomorrow for 2 hours and maybe a swim too.  I think I will be back into the full training mode by this next weekend.

I have taken this opportunity to work on my mental game as well.  The best race I ever had was the one that I approached the lightest.  Its important to train but its most important that I look at this as an adventure, not a race.  I will  complete the Ultraman and believe it or not, I will have fun along the way.

Thanks so much for your support and your words of encouragement, they have gone and will continue to go a long way.

I’m looking forward to a swim, bike, run, strength, massage , stretching and healthy eating -Ultraman training week.  I hope you all have a great week as well.

See you soon,

Beth