Your plan isn't "The Plan"

When 2015 started I was feeling more confident and more motivated than ever that this was going to be the year that I qualified for the Olympic Trials. I quickly learned that the plan that you have in mind, isn't always the way things pan out.  I had just run a PR at the Chicago Marathon, and I knew that I was in shape to run faster. I decided that for the spring I wanted to forgo the marathon and run a trail race. I had been pounding the pavement since 2012 trying to get closer and closer to that OT mark (In the mean time, USATF decided to go ahead and lower the mark by 3 minutes for 2016!) and just needed a short mental break from the roads. Coach Dad and I decided on a plan of running the ultra in the spring and then go after the standard in September and/or December.

I went into Way Too Cool 50K in March feeling like I was in great shape. I felt good, I was running strong and was ready to enjoy competing on the trails. Aside from waking up race morning with a freak bout of stomach issues, I was feeling really good in the race and had latched onto a nice pack of speedy ladies and gents. At mile 11 I had to make an emergency stop at the bathroom (thank god there was a port-o-potty there!) and lost touch with the pack. The rest of the race I mostly ran alone, and at mile 22 things took a turn for the worse. I blasted my ankle with an eversion sprain (try to make the outside of your foot touch your ankle bone. Hurts doesn't it?) which brought me immediately to tears. I had hurt it a few weeks prior while running in the Domincan Republic but it hadn't given me too much trouble leading up to race day. This time, however, it was bad. REALLY bad. I had to walk, jog, hobble the last 9 miles (not to mention having to stop and poop multiple times along the way) to the finish where I immediately broke down crying. According to the podiatrist I sprained some ligaments, according to a PT, I bashed my ankle bones together. Either way, the result was that I ended up in a walking boot and had six torturous weeks of no running ahead of me. It took pool time and Seth getting creative at the gym so I wasn't a total raving B from not working out. (Love ya, Seth!)

I knew it was going to be a lot harder now to try and qualify. I still had a good chunk of time to shave off and now had to get back in shape as well. I was ready to try anyway. I started back slowly but by Mid-July I was doing some solid long runs and getting in some fast workouts when my knee decided to go on the fritz. I thought it was just going to be a one or two day fluke where a few days off would resolve it. Here I am 14 weeks later and am only up to running an hour. The diagnosis? Plica Syndrome. (I know, I made that same face too when the orthopedic doc said it.) I had never heard of it and literally thought he was joking. Nope, he wasn't. He pulled up some info on it and it sounded pretty much what I was feeling. The weird thing is that I had run the morning it started hurting but, had no pain and was standing still chatting at the TRT 100 when I first felt it.

ME: Soooo you're saying that I am being diagnosed with a running related injury, but I was standing still??
MD: YEP.
ME: Fantastic. What do I do for it?
MD: Rest for 6-8 weeks.
ME:  Can I leave now?

I got to the elevator and knew right then that my chances at an OT mark were pretty much zero to none. I had to fight back tears all day at work because realizing that the last three years of all my hard work- the early mornings, the sweat, the massages, the tightened nutrition, the naps, the blisters, the pain - felt like it was flushed down the drain. I know I am being dramatic and that I am a better athlete for it, but when it's sole purpose was for one goal it feels defeating. The salt in the wound was that I have been very fortunate to have had very few injuries in my career, and now when I really need to be healthy, I get injured twice in the same year?

NOW, BODY?! YOU WANT TO QUIT ON ME NOW!? WHAT TH F**K!

Ok, venting over. It has been hard accepting the fact that my goal has slipped away. It has been hard keeping myself motivated and it has been hard to watch so many fast friends getting ready to compete at the Trials. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond pumped for all of you who have qualified! I just wish I could be there on the starting line with you.

So tired!

So what's the plan now? I am going to take the rest of the year pretty mellow and not follow a structured training plan. I plan to spend some more time at The Ranch working on my strength and mobility to avoid any more injuries. I have also made a recent purchase on a new mountain bike, so I want to spend some time getting better on two wheels. However, that will be short lived because I also decided that since I am taking some down time, I am going to have surgery in December to have the hardware in my wrist removed. It has been causing me a lot of pain over the last few years and I feel now is as good a time as any to have it removed. Silver lining perhaps?

I will pick myself back up in 2016 and start again. There are more races to run, more fun to be had and more life to live. Plus, 2020 isn't so far away, right!?

Stronger is faster!