Its always darkest before the dawn

Hello all ITA blog followers,
The only thing that seems to be going right for me since ive been in california is the weather! During my first workout out here in Santa Barbara we got the phone call that confirmed my entrance into the Mens mile at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix Formerly known as the Boston Indoor Games on Feb 5th. I was very excited to race in this meet again. I say again because many years ago I raced the High school mile there. I did alright but I knew I could have done a lot better. After that race I made it one of my goals to get back to this meet and run the Men's Professional Mile and win. About 6 or so years later I got the call that I was in the Mens Mile. After receiving the confirmation that I was in I continued  my workout. I noticed that my left Achilles was tight but put it out of my mind and finished the work out. I finished the workout and was walking around and I realized I couldn't walk without limping. I tried shaking it off and I threw my trainers on and went out to cool down with Ben and Toni. I lasted about five minutes before I had to turn around and head back to the track. At this point I still wasn't to concerned as I thought it was merely tightness from wearing a new pair of spikes. As the day went on I couldn't get my Achilles to loosen up so I took some advil and put it on ice in hopes that it would go away by the next day. I woke up and stepped out of bed and knew I was going to be in for a long painful run that morning. I piled into the van with the team and we headed out to the trails to go run. I stepped out of the van and Ben immediately asked me if I was okay an I then turned to coach and told him I couldn't run an that I could barely walk. So I took that day off (Wed 19th) off and for the rest of the week I was in the pool treading water. I went to see a Physical Therapist in Santa Barbara and things were going well and my Achilles was feeling better each day. Things then took a turn for the worst last Saturday(22nd) in the pool. When your in great shape it is fairly hard to get your heart rate up in the pool! you just cant get your legs to move fast enough in the water to really get your heart pumping. So I tried different types of interval work and I tried moving my arms faster and then I did something I knew I shouldn't have done. I over extended my stride and tried reaching down fully extending my leg. When your in the pool your feet are not hitting the floor so it is possible to over extend and reach to far down. Well I did that for an interval and I payed for it! I strained my hip flexor! Its funny you dont realize how much you use and rely on certain muscles in till you hurt them. Go figure while trying to rehab one injury I get another. By this past Thursday (22nd) I had run on the roads for a couple of days and my Achilles was feeling great but unfortunately my hip flexor was not. It got the the point were it was painful to walk the house after running.So me and coach sat down and on Thursday we decided it was best to withdraw from the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Feb 5th and focus on getting back to full strength. It was a very hard decision to take. I had my heart set on this meet! But I knew my legs were not ready to do what would have been necessary to be a contender in the race.

The following day Toni, Coach and I  flew to Seattle to attend the UW Invitational in hopes that my leg would feel better by Saturdays race. Unfortunately It did not feel better and I was left with the decision to race and risk prolonging my injury or scratch and rest my legs in hopes of being able to workout early this week. After talking with coach we decided to withdraw from the race and rest up even though we both wanted me to run. So in my uniform and spikes on, I walked over to the officials and scratched my name from the race, Mind you this all happened minutes before the race started. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I was there in uniform with spikes on ready to go and even thought as I walked to the line, to just get on the starting line and run despite the pain. But I stuck with my decision to withdraw in hopes that In two weeks when I am back in Seattle I will be at 100% and ready to roll. Things are starting to look up as the pain is starting to localize so it is healing and the inflammation is going down.

Sorry for the lengthy blog


Gags