I always told myself I would post
on this blog again once I had recovered. After I ran my first 5 mile race I
thought—ok should I post now? Is this it? Am I recovered? Then I ran my first half marathon and
still felt like I wasn’t recovered. Even when I ran a second half marathon
where my pace was actually speak-aloud-able I still didn’t feel like I could
post. This wasn’t a full marathon.
This wasn’t a recovery. In trying to figure out if I had fully recovered yet I
googled recovery. Here’s what it said
Recovery: “return to a
normal state of health, mind, or strength.”
At that moment I realized that I will never turn back to
NORMAL and so I will never recover. Because the accident has changed me. It has forced me to grow. I have created a new normal. A new better normal. Here’s how I got there.
(Please keep
in mind this part of "recovery" comes after finishing PT and being completely
cleared by a doctor)
3) Throw away your timeline and
calendar. Don’t give yourself a date when you want to be back at a certain pace,
mileage, ect. Rushing yourself
with an injury equals hurting yourself. Steps back cause frustration you probably can't deal with.
4) Talk to someone who knows a thing
or two about traumatic incidents. Let them help you. You won’t get anywhere
with constant fear. Running isn’t really possible if you’re too scared to cross
the street. Good luck running
marathons a on a treadmill.
5) Run with friends- the
conversation will ease and distract you from new unusual anxiety producing pain and they won't let you push yourself too far. They’ll also
force you to cross the street even when cars are a little close. Exposure therapy.
6) Go to Barry’s Bootcamp—the
incline and short spurts on the treadmill won't hurt as bad as miles and miles
of pounding and will kick your ass into shape fast. Will also help get some speed back.
7) Have a completely different
workout routine than before the accident—in fact don’t have a routine at all.
Your injury will feel different all the time so you have to go with the flow.
If you planned to run 6 miles tomorrow but you woke up and your ankle was swollen
and sore sounds like you'd have to go to spin instead. Oh well.
8) Start small—get comfortable with
short distance and short races first so you can still feel awesome and not
completely crippled.
9) Have a pre accident PR and a post accident PR. People will tell you to only
compare yourself to post accident so you can see your progress. They’re
right—you need to keep track of your progress and give yourself so many props
for how fair you’ve come. But they’re also wrong- keep your pre accident self
in the back of your mind so you stay determined.
10) During a race (when
you have more than enough time to think and distract yourself from the annoying
pain you still have) take time to think about everyone who got you here. Moms,
Dads, friends, boyfriends, coworkers, doctors, and kick ass physical
therapists.
Over 2 years later not much of the accident still really gets to me. Not
the pain, not the quick flashbacks of the accident, not the scars. But as I sit
down to write this I realize there is one part that is still bringing on
the I’m about to cry feeling in my chest.
And that’s the love and support everyone gave me.
I will never say I am happy that this happened to me and I would never want to go through it again.
But what I learned about the love and kindness of so many people around me I will never ever take back.
Thanks for sharing your powerful comeback story Sarah. Glad to read that you crushed some half-marathons! Best wishes towards your continued athletic success and healthy mind/body/spirit!
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