The Come Back Kids
I've had a not-so-fun medical ordeal going on for a few months now, and am trying to get back on the training horse. I know there are others out there coming back from illness, injury, time off, etc. It is definitely daunting to feel like you are starting over from scratch. Thought we could use a space to share our progress, however incremental it may be. And of course vent frustrations!
For starters- I swam 500 yds yesterday! Yep, that was my swim warmup just a few months ago, but now I'm celebrating that I can go to the pool! Baby steps!
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Thanks for this, Rachel. Today just happens to be my first day to attempt running since Oct 10. Self imposed jail d/t hamstring injury, followed by abdominal (elective) surgery Nov 6th. I'm also in swim jail, d/t what I suspect is a stress fracture at my ulna, left elbow, probably induced with increased swim training in September. If that still doesn't feel right by the end of the year, I check with my doc.
I have been on the trainer for a couple of weeks Starting mid-Nov, then skiing the past week. The final day (Monday) was a full on epic powder day in Aspen, and I put myself through all my tricks and paces without any bad sensations of loss of function, so I think I'm ready to SLOWLY get back to running.
Since it's 38F and raining hard, I'm about to head out the door for a treadmill session. I'm not sure how far to go, anyhow much waling to mix in, but I'm thinking it will be 1' walk/4'@ Z1, repeat x 3-4. Then build from that daily to the end of the year, bit by bit. Swimming I hope to be trying out this Sunday, then add back a session a week, to get to 3 x/week, 45' per session, all @ Z1 until the elbow feels right.
So I'm pretty much of a mess, except I can still ski, thanks to the miracle of modern board technology.
Steve - good to see you're staying on *this* side of the over-doing it line. Be real careful, about the intensity both running and swimming now that you're up to some real volume. Lean and mean; I like it. See you at the races some time next year, I bet.
I did 1.5 miles in 17', as a good place to re-start my running career. Between 5.0 and 6.7 mph, with 1'/4' walk/run. A LITTLE bit farther, longer, and harder each day over the next three weeks, then I'm off to ski again. Tomorrow, I'll get back on the trainer.
@Al , Well the biggie is recovering from the surgery. Stress fracture in your elbow? How the heck? I know stress fracture is over-use but would think some kind of impact would be necessary... Either way, baby it, and enjoy the powder :-)
@Steve , I see the blueprint of a man on a mission.... Recharged, ready to go, with a plan, and huge goals....Now I'm gonna sand bag you a little with my story but you better believe I'll be showing up in your AG @ IMMD at 110%...
My rest/injury comeback...After IMAZ I planned a minimum 2 weeks off each SBR discipline... Thanks to a little bike crash I managed to overachieve on these goals making it 2-3 weeks off each.... The bike crash almost 4 weeks ago created a double whammy of sorts... The most obvious was the clavicle injury for swimming , after 3 weeks off swimming I started at 10 minutes and have built up to 30 minutes today but at a pace 20-30" per 100yd slower than normal while I feel out the shoulder.... The run was the big surprise, having banged my hip really good , I limped around for a couple days after the crash and then was able to start running , last week I developed some hip impingement type pain in the hip socket , making it almost impossible to walk , NOW on day 5 OFF running in a self imposed run jail while I wait for that to heal... Been cycling a little at IF .62 but am afraid to do anymore until I feel good about that hip again....It is what it is and I'm evaluating one day at a time....Hope to be running soon!
@Al- sorry to hear about your body's rebellion, and never would I have thought skiing would be the tolerable activity! Moving to Calgary next year, so looking forward to learning to ski besides my few pathetic attempts over the years.
@Steve- awesome comeback story- thats for the inspiration!
@Tim- Crohn's disease and all his complications decided to pay me an unwelcomed and prolonged visit. Not so fun, but reminds me to never take health for granted!
@Matt- I have no doubt you'll come back strong! Biking with no resistance is great post-op, and I know some docs even let that take the place of the loathed CPM. You picked a good year for surgery- no ice or snow to have to navigate post-op!
@ Rachel, my doctor (Nho) says 20 min biking = 1 hour CPM. HOWEVER, that only works to spring you out of 1 hour of the CPM...still 3 hours minimum!!! Btw the Lakeview physio folks were really full-up so I'm at NovaCare on Diversey / DePaul. My dad's PT Mike Kelly. So far so good!
Hmmm ... we've got quite a team of high achievers here. Let's compete on who can Come Back the healthiest, not the quickest, OK? Especially when I am contemplating signing up for a memorial 5K next month, in honor of a local 69 y/o triathlete wha was killed while cycling three months ago - my wife related how she;s getting more concerned about riding on the roads around here.
@ Tim: Stress fracture" is my self-diagnosis. It's actually probably more like a very bad tendonitis, where the tendon from the muscle which flexes the hand attaches to the end of the ulna. Swimming is the only way I can imagine doing that, when I upped the volume in September in prep for Kona. Like everything else, it got better when I was off skiing.
@ Rachel: As to skiing's impact: when done properly, it's mostly about using gravity through subtle body position changes, appropriately timed quad flexing, and having a "feel" for the snow through the feet (kind of like having a "feel" for the water through the hands and forearms). Having soft snow to absorb the impacts is kinda like having really cushy shock absorbers.
@ Matt - What's "CPM"? A machine, an exercise routine...?
So a posse of the most recent "Usual Suspects" I see have chimed in. Yes great thread Rach for the broken and dishearted. Gonna lump all the issues Steve x 2(me),Al, Matt and Tim together. Sounds like we are all on the mend. Surgical vs non surgical.
Mr Swanlund keep it up slow steady progress will win the day.
Al wowzer a lot of issues you're dealing with at once. You are a methodical ubber smart person who will prioritize your rehab the right way.
Matt 1 week post op, slow, steady, and healing. Listen to your aches and pains, then move forward, good luck dude.
Last but not least Timmy gotta say you put your bod through a lot this year and now it's telling you something. Time to explore other fitness routines that make's and keeps you strong this off season.
For me I have struggled mentally and physically since IMCHATT but I am moving forward. Still not back to work till the New Year but I have built in a fitness regime that includes weight resistance/core/leg routine to get me ready for 2016. I bottomed out at 147 lbs but now 160 lbs. My regular feel good weight is 155 lbs or close. I have put a lot of time into my core/upper body due to my injuries. My chest still does not look like it use to be and never will I guess. Looking forward to hearing about your next hurdle and how you will over come it moving forward !
At the start of NOS I went out to do my run test and aggravated a hamstring injury that I thought had healed. I had been managing it during the season with reduced intensity and massage sessions. But 1.5 miles into the run test it came back with a vengeance. I got a referral from my doc to see a PT and she diagnosed the underlying cause as weak glutes. So I rearranged my run expectations for the NOS to concentrate on form, strengthening my glutes and hamstring, and core work. BTW, the bike doesn't seem to affect this particular injury so I can still do intensity work there.) It's a little frustrating reading reports from other folks in the NOS who are crushing the run workouts and I'm just rolling along at the TRP pace, but I broke the 30 mile mark last week and everything is going well. It's a different type of work to concentrate on changing my stride and engaging my glutes and I just have to have faith that it will pay off. This week I noticed that my pace seems higher at the same RPE so I went back to look at the same run from several weeks ago. It turns out that my pace is slightly faster but my HR is lower than it was just 3 weeks ago. I'll take that. If I can make my present TRP pace my IM marathon pace by the end of August then I that would shave 20 minutes off my current IM marathon PR. So that's my running goal for the year.
@Mark, yep your history mirrors mine. I was just getting over a chronic high rt hamstring issue. Did a 5 km hard run, two day's later left hammy said "hellooo". I have been hard at flexibility, strengthening my core/gluts/hammy's. As you no issues on the bike, as for running TRP run jail I am in. I have strapped up my hamstring for support and it has helped. This is where I am at and nothing but paying attention to the little things will pay off. I will be joining the JOS crew and hopefully I can keep moving forward. At present I am getting my rehab routine down to an hour so I can do the the workouts in reasonable amount of time. As a parting comment don't push through a hamstring injury whether it's a 1st or 3rd degree. Stop, walk, or call home, rehab like it's your job,good luck, and keep us updated on your progress.
See attachment, my best friends of late !
Tim- You are my motivation for training this year. I plan to run you down in the finish chute for an EN 1, 2 finish. So get healthy...I don't want you to have any excuses.
Mr. Ross- coming back from a car vs. bike crash is serious business. I went through that in 2012. It's part of the reason I took most of this past year off completely. I needed to rid myself of those mental demons.
Mark- I have found that easy running is the best thing to help recover form hamstring issues, even better than no running. I found that anything faster than about zone 1.5 would aggravate it, but zone 1 was good therapy.
I do a thursday night hill run to get home from work. It's about 6 miles and climbs 600 ft in a little over a mile. It has really strengthened my hamstrings and glutes. Then after most runs I spend the last 1/4 mile doing high knees, butt kickers and lunges as I cool down/walk home. This has reduced my hamstring soreness and hip flexor soreness that has plagued me in years past. This morning I did my usual 3000 yard swim, but stuck a CSS test in the middle to track any progress I may have made since last testing 2 weeks ago. Went from a CSS of 1:43/100y to a 1:37/100y that's a 4:15 improvement over an Ironman swim. Hoping to see that CSS get to a 1:30/100y by the time I start to bike in mid January. My post swim run was less than epic (struggled to hit Zone 1) as I was holding onto some serious post hill run fatigue from the night before. I call that a Hill Run Hangover.
Thanks for starting this thread, Rachel. You are all an inspiration. Every year my goal has been to get faster and stronger across the spectrum. This year, I'd be thrilled to just get back to where I was at last year...
Today: run, 2.05 mi/20' run, following an hour of body weight exercises and weight room work. I skipped my planned trainer ride for an hour's nap and putting lights on the tree
Big day meaning positive's. Brenda surprised me with a 90 minute ART massage, bottom line it hurt. I am hoping to reap the rewards on Sunday, so epson salts relax, tv, dang let it happen !!
Run: 2.4 mi/22:45/126 AvgHR; Trainer 15 mi/40' @ 0.75 x 20'; Walk to & from 10 AM Star Wars showing, 1 hr/2.6 mi. Wt 149# (my target is 148 +/- 1 #)
@Steve Ross- good to see you coming back from something much more serious... something for each of us to think of as it can always be worse... recovering beats the alternative :-).... yes I'm in a much needed break and I took one as planned, this is extending things a little...
@Steve Swanlund- Let the smack talk begin! Friends until 7AM on 1/1/16 , then friends again at the finish! Gonna be fun training with you this summer... I plan the IMMD training to start 7/11 !
@Brad... welcome back ... take it slow and gradual but get in that pool NOW!
My Update-Already made the call NOT to RUN the 1/1/16 local 5k but will walk it with the dog!
HIP- still not feeling it to RUN... so I'm walking 2 miles almost every day (in addition to dogwalks which are stop and sniff) and got it down to 17 min miles LOL... its getting better but slowly ......starting to add some volume and intensity to the bike and appears not to bother the hip at all so if worse comes to worse I can move towards a bike focus instead of a run focus...
Shoulder- more improvement seen in the shoulder, swam and pushed it a little bit today, it hurts and its sore , feels just like my other side a couple years ago... but at least I can see some measurable improvement.
Well a new week has begun, stepping back from running this week to give myself a body "destress", have been using a run durability program as rehab. This week's goal hit the pool and put the bike on the trainer. Going to keep up my strength/flexibility program to keep my injuries at bay. OA I have gained 10 lbs and am finally coming around to feeling like my ole self. A new week begins peeps make the most out of it.
@Timmy, I hope you don't need Matt's experts ! Slow and steady you go, keep the ship upright !
Running outside yesterday, 2.8 mi/26:20/HR126. Today our re ord December rains persist, so on the treadmill for 5K @ 27:26. Planning on a PM trainer today.
I'm not sure when to start the plateau on my daily run plan
I took my last Cardiac MRI on June 10 2013 and started running again the next day. I remember it well. I felt like "I will never be fast again, I will never be lean again..." Lose those messages... you will, it will take time and it will come quicker than you think. Just don't overtrain and cause another injury. Bite of small daily runs, swims, and bikes. Paces and distances are all focused on building a foundation... you will be back faster than you think.
in 2013, I came back so well, I ended up pulling a charity entry for the NYC Marathon & beating m 18 yr old PR by A LOT.
After a great 14 and looking forward to '15, I sit here 6 months after herniating a disc 3 days prior to Lake Placid. I have been biking on the trainer, am just starting to run again, and have a shoulder issue to deal with from surgery a year ago.. So this is again a comeback build... it's the holidays, I am writing this from a cruise ship, where the big fitness event seems to be eating, and I am focused on building a great foundation for the OS and moving onwards from there with the lessons learned two years ago... Consistency trumps speed, watts, and everything else, Stay healthy and trust the training, you will fly again!
Well I did get into the pool today and on the bike trainer. OA 30 minutes on the bike and 30 minutes in the pool. No focused goals today only swim and spin, done. What I feel came out of this was, shoulder girdle/core is ready to meet the magnitude of what I am about to put it through in the next couple of months."
@Al your set backs/moving forward are inspiring,"Crap man you rise to every occasion" !
Also, started my planned 5 days a week X 1-1.5 hours @ 0.75-0.8 IF on the trainer today. I love feeling better *after* a workout than before.
Good luck all !
Then PM trainer, 4x10' (3') @ 0.79 IF/113 HR, 1:07:30 total time. Started 'Fargo' season 1 for company.
My CTL has started to rise. Bottomed out @ 47, now "up" to 49.