After the positive 100miles (despite suffering from a sore knee from running) my week rapidly went downhill.
Normally if I suffer from pains I just zone out and try to ignore them, try to push through. I've heard various people lately that I need to look after my body and sort the pains out otherwise they get worse.
I hadn't don't it. And now I'm paying for it. I've been getting trapped nerves in my back and neck along with a painful knee and thigh. I think I had been putting it down to just not being fit enough to cope with the training I have been doing. But in reality I'm realising that I need to get those sports massages, the ones that you always put off.
I booked an appointment for Monday night. Asking her to look at my leg. She works on my IT band, the thing that holds most of your muscles in your legs together apparently. Mine was originally painful. As she pushed her hand up from the outside of my knee up to my hip... OUCH! She said it can be caused by tight hamstrings (back of thigh) or tight quads (front thigh).. Testing my hamstrings, they were ok. But bloomin eck my quads were... Ouch!
Big lumps of knots :(
She then moves on to my calf of my left leg. Equally as painful. This is NOT fun. But I know that it's doing me good.
She works on my shoulders a bit. They're so tight, especially up by my neck. Probably from the swimming and TT position. But also maybe I lift my shoulders up when I run as I often feel I am struggling for air.. Joys of asthma.
I go back Thursday to see her again as I'm still all painful. She works on both legs this time and then does some more on my back.
I try to swim the next morning. I feel awful. I I was weak, my arms weren't working, my neck was stiff and sharp. The nerve was still caught, or something was just bloomin tender. After 25 min I stop, it's not worth it.
That was the hardest part. Learning when to say no.
No, stop training.
Rest.
Come back stronger.
I came home from work late that afternoon. Doctors. I'd spent the whole day barely being able to move.
My head was thumping, my neck sharply painful, my mouth feeling funny and my eyes hurting.
I cried at work. The fear of my first Olympic triathlon, which I've been tirelessly training for, hoping that my emergency hospital visit earlier this year hadn't set me back too much, the dear of ot being a total disaster.
With a week to go I just began to panic and emotions just took over. I was seeing all my hard work coming to a pathetic end & not being able to do the race.
Doc says it may be a tension headache. So gives me some strong pain killers to relax my neck and back and relieve my headache.
I book an appt with the osteopath for the next morning in the hope she will be able to straighten me out bone / spine wise. My hips are wonky and I was standing all in a wonk she said. After several movements I begin to feel less tense. Cracks coming from my back mentally made me feel that pressure was dispersing.
I have not been one to see a sports therapist in the past, or an osteopath but with the fear of not being able to race next week looming over my head, I want to be in a position where I can at least finish it. In one piece.
I haven't done any training for about 4 days now, literally nothing. And actually it's been refreshing. I've slept loads. I've eaten well.
And most importantly, I've learnt when to say no. I'm not going to improve my fitness by training when I'm in pain. I'm not going to be a better swimmer by training with a pain in my neck, runner with pain in my knee.
I'm learning to play the long game. I've got lots of events still this year which I want to complete so missing one day (or four) to allow me to complete my goals for this year is much more important.
It's been mentally tough as I'm still worried I haven't done enough, but I'm not going to reduce my 10k race time in a week.. I don't want to go into the race tired.
I'm saying no.
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