A Short Farewell from Running

I didn’t really know how to start out this blog post, so I thought using a picture would be fun. Everybody likes pictures. And I also just really suck at starting out my blog. Honestly, I’ve been sitting here listening to the new Young the Giant album and Awolnation for the past 30 minutes, and have only gotten this far. Even Alexisonfire is jumping into the mix. I’ll get to the point…. eventually.

In January, I decided to go “underground” in terms of my training. My goal race was the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon, and then it got switched over to the Sun Run in Vancouver. I will not be participating in either of those races. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been running through some problems (notice that pun there, ohhhhhh I crack myself up sometimes). But seriously though. It started out with a tweaked hamstring in January, and then this stupid nerve problem sprung up in the metatarsals over the past few weeks. Two weeks ago, we did a 10x400m interval workout @ 64s, which is a pretty quick workout. The typical shin splints flared up and last week, I was at physio twice, went for an athletic message, got the chiropractor to tweak things out, and even did yoga. Yoga was actually so much fun! I felt like a majestic stallion among a room full of goddesses. In reality, I was a 2×4 in a room full of elastic bands. That’s all besides the point. Over the weekend, I ran 10k from Strides (the best running store in the city of Calgary), and did a 4x400m relay race at the Trojans Invitational, and ran 12k with the typical BVH crew. So why am I mentioning all of that? Because those are my final logged runs for the next 6-8 weeks.

On Sunday, my left leg finally had enough of my bullshit I’ve put it through over the past 3 years of running. On Sunday, I fractured my tibia, stress fracture that is. As of right now, everything is on hold. It’s actually pretty strange how this came up. This whole “underground” thing hasn’t even been too extensive. Ever since Nationals in Vancouver, everything has been different. Mentally, I haven’t been with it. My sharpness is gone, my motivation is down, and I don’t really have a hoot to give about anything. It’s almost like my super powers are gone. Physically, I feel weaker than I’ve ever been. My running form is just as impressive as these guys:

To be honest, I don’t really know what is going on, either in my head, or with my body physically, but maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe this is just what I needed. It’s pretty tough going from a full time employee during the day where you’re on your feet for 8 hours straight, to a competitive athlete in the evening, and trying to fit in some sort of cross train in that mix as well. It also doesn’t help that it’s -40 outside. Come on mother nature, this is crap. Give us some warmth. Now that I have this new found free time for the next 6-8 weeks, I’m going to enjoy every moment of it. I’m going to give my 89 year old grandmother a hug everyday, create some hilarious moments with friends, hang out with family, and read some books.

Life isn’t all about competitive running. One thing I’ve lost over the past while is the true love for running. I’ve been so obsessed with becoming the best, so stuck up with winning every race out there, and I’ve lost sight of the big picture. I run for a reason, I run to get a little bit better everyday, and if that takes me to the top, it was meant to be, and if I don’t make it to the top, then it wasn’t meant to be, but there is a purpose behind every outcome. Behind every great success, and behind every setback, there is a purpose. Maybe the purpose to this injury is to get my head straight again, or maybe it’s a sign that I should stop running (haha, that will never happen).

As of right now, I can’t walk, nor can I run. I might even be tearing up as I write this, but that’s okay. Everything in life happens for a reason. That’s one thing I’ve learnt over the years. Sometimes things don’t work out as planned, and sometimes you need to take a detour, and that’s how I’m looking at this situation. Tomorrow is a new day, and if you set yourself up to have a better day, everyday, you will succeed at what you do. As I sit here, there are a lot of things running through my mind, like “wow these crutches hurt my armpits”, and “oh, I’m hungry again”, but there is also “keep your head up little warrior, you’re going to come back faster, stronger, and better than before”. Positivity, the right attitude, and believing in myself will get me through this, and this road to recovery may take 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 10 weeks, but no matter the time period, I will be back, and mark these words, I will be back to race once again. For now, this is farewell.