Backstreet’s Back Alright

Guess who’s back. Back again

You are probably singing one of the two songs… You’re welcome. If you read my post from March of this year, you know I have back issues. If you didn’t read it, go back now. I’ll wait. https://runningwarriorsarah.com/home/2019/3/24/chronic-injuries-suck

Waiting

Thanks for coming back!

I am nearing the end of a recent flare up. I went for a run in September and noticed something didn’t feel right. I went home and iced my back. I tried to stand up a little later and wasn’t able to. I spent the next three days on the floor waiting for the pain in my back to subside enough to let me move around. The one thing I noticed is that I need new carpeting.

I got back into physical therapy with Hulst Jensen. (Jess at the Cascade location is amazing!!!). Same issue, same root cause….I’m too bendy. Same course of treatment. After a few weeks I went back to my trainer at Stalta (Lauren is the bomb.com). If you have a trainer, please make sure that they will always take your injuries seriously and adjust your workout plans accordingly. Honestly, I was VERY scared to meet with Lauren. What if I made the flare up worse? What if I caused more pain? What if I couldn’t do enough to feel like I got a good workout?

Each time I have this issue pop up it plays havoc with my mind. I question running, I question working out, I question everything. This time was no different. I have my fall goal race in just over a month, would it be possible? Should I even be running? Why is this my life? Why can’t I get better? While some of these questions are completely irrational, I can’t stop them from coming. So, I decided to answer just one of the questions. What to do about my fall goal race, the 12 hour Ultra Bird. 12 hours is definitely out of the question. I can hardly stand for 2-3 hours. I decided a quick day trip to Chicago would be my test. If I could stand the entire time without getting pain, I would move forward with the 6 hour race instead of the 12. Well….. I made it further than I anticipated….I was able to stand/walk for four hours until my back started to hurt. So, 12 hours was off the table and 6 hours would be a stretch. What to do, what to do?

Acceptance is hard. Especially accepting that you may not reach a specific goal that was set. I did some major thinking and pondering of my next steps. I paid for the 12 hour. I trained for the 12 hour. My trail buddy was signed up for the 6 hour. A friend from Run Camp also signed up for the 6 hour. What was my number one priority for this race day? That was easy. I wanted to see Beth complete the 6 hour race. The second goal was to support Emma on her 6 hour race. Anything on top of that would just be icing on the cake. My trail buddy, Emma and I went out to Pigeon Creek for the course preview. I knew what my plan was at this point. But, I only told a few people. Honestly, I was hoping for a little trail magic to just fix my back so I could do 12 hours. Realistic possibility, absolutely not. But, I just hoped something would change. It didn’t. So my plan was simple. I would walk the first three miles (1 loop) of the course. If I felt good, I would go out again. If I didn’t, I would be done and switch to my spectathlete roll. You’ll have to wait until my race recap to find out how the race went. But, I will say, I am happy with everything I was able to do at the race.

You may or may not be wondering what am I going to do next? How can I schedule goal races when my back’s schedule takes priority. Have no fear, I have a plan for that….. Just you wait and see…..

Until next time….