No Time To Heal

As runners we are injured a lot. It may be from overuse, too much too soon or from a fall. The point is, this is something we have to deal with. I have dealt with the gambit of injuries during my years as a skateboarder and now more so as a runner. I hear these issues all the time from fellow runners which is ok because it's something we tend to discuss. I do not however feel anything for those who do nothing to help themselves. So many people say "I'm not running right now I'm injured" and when I ask "what are you doing about it?" They all have the same reply. "Taking time off". "Aaaaaaand?" Time may heal all wounds, but for me life is too short to wait for things to just heal on their own. Besides an overuse issue will just reappear if you do nothing different.

I recently made my longest distance trail run - 45km. It was an iciy day so I had spikes on my shoes for traction. The only problem was they feel terrible under the sole of the shoe and destroyed my feet during the day. So much so that I went for x-rays due to the pain the next day. I thought I had a stress fracture, but the doctor was unsure of the x-rays. He told me that I had to leave on crutches and stay on them for the next 4 weeks! We argued and I left. All I needed to know was if it's fractured. If not, then I can run on it.

It has been 1 week now. 1 week full of self rehab. You have to be dedicated to healing, but it can be done and quite quickly. If you half-ass it or miss sessions you'll get half assed-results.

My foot is now around 75% and certainly good enough to run on, but it has taken a lot of work to get it here. This is what my week has looked like:

28 icing sessions @ 15 mins14 stretching sessions  @ 15 mins
7 rehab sessions with therapy band @ 5 mins
7 rolling/massage sessions @ 5 mins
5 ultrasound sessions @ 15 mins (I have my own home unit)

11 hours 45 minutes total (approximately 1 hour 40 minutes per day)

Sound extreme? Well maybe it is, but for me getting back to what I love sometimes requires extreme measures. What's that you say? You don't have that kind of time? Well neither do I! It's been a tough week and a lot of things have been pushed to the side. It has also required a good deal of patience from my wife as it's certainly cut into our time together.

I'll leave you with this question: How bad do you want it?