They say when it rains it pours, and that is just rubbish. It can mist, it can drizzle, it can deluge, it can spit, and it can fall. (Thesaurus.com for the win) Actually though, I mention this saying because the past year has caused me to think the phrase “when it rains, it pours” has some validity. A plantar issue that spanned a full year, eventually ending in a tear, followed by a 6 month stint of battling a nerve entrapment in the same heel, only to end up with a sacral stress fracture a month into coming back. And recently I have been struggling with hamstring and gluteal attachment pain in the midst of coming back, which has been tough. That’s almost a full two years of running with pain. It has been a true trial of its own to say the least, mostly because it has postponed goals, which I had planned to achieve by now. Unfortunately, you have to move on. When you go through setbacks you have to reset the clock, go to the drawing board, and figure out a new game plan. Yes, you still keep the tenacity and grit to be able to fight and own your trials, but you have to reassess and reset some of the goals you planned to accomplish in order to keep your sanity and confidence. In other words, if you’re held up in the boot a week out from a race you wanted to go after a personal best in, then it does you no good to keep that goal.
Resetting and reassessing are not bad things to do either; you just have to make sure you are not settling when you are reassessing. The past few years have been riddled with reset buttons. Originally I was planning on competing for a spot on the 2016 Olympic Team in the marathon, with completing a half marathon prior for a qualification. When my nerve entrapment did not release until January we knew the Olympic Marathon Trials were out of the question. Alright, BRAINTRUST ASSEMBLEEEE! We’re back to the drawing board. Hmm, let’s hunker down, get some mileage in, and get some base for the track season. New plan, we go for a qualifying standard and spot on the Olympic Team in the 10,000 meters. After about another month of training BOOM, sacral stress fracture. 8 weeks no running, no cross training. It was one of those look up at the sky moments where I just let out a, “Oh come on!” Fast forward 16 weeks later and I was able to run on land for the first time post stress fracture. And now brainstorming session is back in action. (Little sidebar, if you’re in an area without much sunlight, you should definitely be taking a good amount of Vitamin D). Now as I am struggling to get my legs to feel good again, we are finally back to having new short term and long term goals on the table; a winter Cross Country season, ending in a go at the U.S. Cross Country Title and more importantly assessing my weaknesses and eliminating them in order to have four injury free years before attempting to make the Olympic team in 2020.
I have been able to reset my goals and always keep my eyes forward to the future; however, I wouldn’t ever want to blanket the struggle and hardship it has caused me because it has not been easy for me. It has been accompanied by a great deal of heartbreak. Running has always been the glue that keeps me from falling apart whenever I am having a hard time in life, and this year in particular I needed that glue and didn’t have access to it. I have been dreaming about these Olympic Trials since high school, and all of a sudden they’re gone, off the table. What?! It makes me sad, it makes me angry, it causes me to feel defeated, but one way I have been able to mitigate that pain is through resetting my goals. Looking forward to 2020, keeping our focus forward. I am putting this one behind me because that’s what we have to do, right? I used to hate these rough patches, I used to despise the injuries, but without the struggle how can you know the joy of the good times? Now that I’ve reset… I’ll be fighting. I’ll be waiting. I’ll be lurking. I’m focused, and by 2020 I’ll be ready.
Almost forgot, Teammate Update!!!!!
Johnny Craine will be running in the Olympic Trials 10k tomorrow Friday July 1, 2016 at 9:15pm EST. If you have access to NBC, then you should be watching for a great showing by a Zap first year.
George Alex and Joe Stilin are still waiting to hear back from the Olympic Committee, but will find out on Saturday whether or not they will be competing in the 5000 meter Olympic Trials in the first round on Monday July 4, 2016 at 8:00pm EST.
Two new teammates! Brandon Doughty of Oklahoma and Matt McClintock of Purdue have just signed with Zap and it’s going to be a blast getting to know those guys as they transition into professional running.
….now time for shameless hashtagging and promoting….
- Try out some Reebok Distance 2.0s if you’re looking for a solid minimal shoe, seriously these things are the bees knees (reebok outlet or large sporting retail). Check them out hereà http://www.reebok.com/us/reebok-one-distance-2.0/AR0670.html
- I just tried the new coffee flavored GenUCan bar, it’s delicious and has a solid little kick to start out your morning right and keep your energy solid throughout the day. Get them while they’re hot… but really they’re just room temperature. àhttps://store.generationucan.com/products/barscoffeebean
- Soleus also has some sick looking new watches this spring, one reminds me a lot of The Thing from the Fantastic Four, super rugged looking and easy to use (it’s called The Contender (I have the orange one)). Loving it.http://www.soleusrunning.com/collections/running-watches/products/contender
#unlockingtheflowinglocks #bemorehuman #honoryourdays #soleusrunning #genucan #zapfitness #longroadtotokyo #25915 #flow #fitness #running #trackandfield
Catch more from Andrew on his blog at https://unlockingtheflowinglocks.wordpress.com/