Tag Archives: physiotherapy

Back into the swing of things

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After a few bumps in the road I’m just starting to get back into running again on a regular basis, and the time off really did make me appreciate the fact that I can run. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on how far I have come over the past couple of years, and all of the wonderful friendships I have made along the way, and I feel super lucky to be where I am today!

I can still remember the first few run group sessions in the city with my bestie Megan, who dragged me along each week and got me to enter events with her. I remember meeting Todd for the first time, our run group leader who helped push me along and got me running a full 5kms without stopping, a major feat for me back then. Both Megan and Todd have seen me grow from these early days, and supported me at everything from from 5km to 100km events. I’m very lucky to have met both of them and will be forever grateful.

From my beginnings at Nike Run Club, to run leading at Sydney Harbour Runners, to learning the trails with Sydney Striders, and working on my speed with Runlab, I have improved and learnt so much from each of these groups, and I know I will continue to do so in years to come. Every group has offered me so much and the friendships I’ve made along the way are ones that will last a lifetime.

Last weekend really highlighted to me just how much I love the sport and how much it means to me. I spent the day volunteering at the Centennial Park Ultra and I was surprised at just how many runners I knew and could assist/encourage while they were out there on the course. Their smiles, hard work and determination made me really appreciate what we have and are capable of doing when we put our mind to something. The sky is the limit!

So back to my running.

Term 3 of Runlab started 2 weeks ago and I was very nervous about getting back into the interval sessions as it had been longer than 6 months since my last session. The first week was Kenyan Hills and it destroyed me… I went out too hard and had nothing left for the last few reps. I was knackered.

Second week back at Runlab was Time Trial (TT) week, and this scared me even more. First up we did some intervals of 800/400/400/800 and to my surprise my average pace for these was 4:05, much quicker than I thought I would be (especially with my lack of speed training). We then had a short break and got stuck into the TT, which was a 1 mile distance. We all set off and I tried to stay with the front 2 runners as long as I could, which went well for the first 2 laps and then they started to pul away from me. I felt pretty good and pushed myself quite hard so I didn’t have much left in the tank when I finished. My time was 6:33 for the mile which equates to an average pace of 3:45, a massive sock to me as I don’t think I’ve ever run that fast before at any distance!!

The funny thing is, I did’t realise my average pace times for these Runlab sessions until last Sunday when my friend Maria pointed them out to me. I had been feeling a bit down and felt slow on the day, so I didn’t even bother to look what the pace had been, silly me!

So there you have it, i’m getting faster and i’m coming back stronger than before. So who knows what’s in store for me next…. bring on City2Surf this weekend, stay tuned!

Happy Running 🙂

Fantastic Friday

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And this was worthy of it’s own post….

As I was leaving the physio this morning he agreed to let me race on Sunday AND he also told me to go hard. I nearly fell over! But he said it will be a good test and of course if there’s any pain I should back off. This was GREAT news! I guess all those hours of exercises and icing & heat packs must be working.

I’ve been seeing Luke at Shire Sports Physio (Miranda) since my injury during TNF, first it was 3 times a week, then twice a week, and next week I only see him once. Luke really knows his stuff and although the session can be painful (dry needling is not very nice!) I know he’s helping get me back on my feet as fast as possible.

So i’m thrilled to be heading back onto the trails this weekend for the Sydney trail Series at St Ives, and many of my fellow SHR crew will be there too. I don’t care if it rains, I just want to get out there and have some fun!

Happy Running 😀

physio cartoon

Post race recovery & Injury update

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marathon-recovery

I organised to have a week off work after my TNF100 race and I’m so glad that i did. I got a chance to sleep and sit around resting my legs, especially my injured leg.

Monday morning after the race I went to the physio to get my leg checked out. He asked how far I had run, and when I replied with “78km” he said “7 to 8 kms?” and I said “No, 78km” . He looked at me strangely for a minute and said that he didn’t believe me. Honestly. He looked at me like I was a crazy lady and I guess we ultra runners are a little crazy.

He confirmed that I can done tendon damage in two spots, near the top of my ITB (near the hip) and also the part that joins to the glute medius (the butt). He said it was similar to tendinitis and was probably triggered when I fell and got worse as I continued, sounded about right. He did some trigger point massage which was painful and got me to do some isometric exercises, and then he iced the whole area.

I told him I had a race in 2 weeks time and another in 5 weeks time and he just looked at me and shook his head. He told me that it was going to be a few weeks of recovery and that I should rest as much as possible, definitely no running and no long walks either. I was to do my exercises 3 times a day and ice it after each session.

When I went back to see him on Wednesday it felt much the same, maybe even a little sorer but in a different way. He did similar to what he had done on Monday and he asked me to come back on Friday for another session.

By Friday it was feeling slightly better and i could now walk with no pain at all. So he decided to do some ‘dry needling’ on the affected area and I have never felt anything like it. It hurt like hell. It felt like he was jabbing a needle into the muscle and swirling it around underneath my skin. It was horrible!!

He then applied a heat pack to the area and told me that I coped really well with the pain, and not to do any exercises for the rest of the day. After the heat pack, he then iced the area and sent me on my way. I could hardly walk again, it felt weird, not painful, just kind of numb and tingly.

I saw him again yesterday morning and I’m booked in again on Thursday afternoon, where he is going to do some more of the dry needling – great!!I am also hopijg that he tells me I can start running again as there is a race I am registerd for this weekend, the NOSH Footrace. But I know I must not push it too soon, i’m just very impatient!!

Aside from the injury I’m feeling quite good. I have eaten well and had lots of fluid and I feel like I could actually go for a run (if it wasn’t for my injury).

I will update you all again soon.

Happy Running 🙂