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Need your encoragement and advise

Well the year started fantastically and I've had a brilliant January of training and am really really motivated.

Target this year is London Olympic Distance in August (my first Olympic distance after 4 years of sprints)
Anyway its all gone rapidly downhill in the past couple of days - Shoulder damaged and been told not to swim for at least a month (given physio to do) and now I've gone an got Achillies Tendonitis and told not to run for 2 months.

To say I am dimoralised and just fancy sitting in the pub for the rest of the year would be an understatement.

So thats my tale of woe - I need some encouragement that I'll have time to get fit in time for London (I know its August but I had several races lined up beofre that), positive stories of how others have got through your injuries.

cheers

Comments

  • jacjac Posts: 452
    Can you bike? Time to work on that me thinks.

    Say you start running again at the end of March you've got more than four months to get fit for 10k. Easy.

    Oh and some wise words from Joe Friel today: "Being 100% healthy is more important than being 100% fit. Don't force it in the early stages of injury or illness. Back off."

    So don't go too hard on the bike!

    And ease yourself back in when you can swim and run again.

    Also, a break allows you to do other stuff. Become less triathlon-obsessed for a while.
  • First off I'm no Doctor, however I have suffered with Achillies Tendonitis in the past and while it's true you do need to rest it, 2 months sounds quite a long time, in my case it was about 3-4 weeks. I've also just recovered from a hamstring pull where one physio told me not to run for 4-6 weeks, I was in a similar place to you p1ssed off etc, etc. Went for a second opinion, and was told I should start gentle jogging in 2 weeks, obviously being a sensible triathlete I went for the second opinion and all is well

    I'm not by any means suggesting you should start training again too soon, more, get another opinion and wait and see how things develop.

    You'll still have plenty of time for London, see you there !
  • jasejase Posts: 47
    Cheers Gents...these are the types of stories I need.

    Im Sparticus - were you able to cycle OK with the Achillies? The doc suggested I shouldn't even do that which I felt was a bit harsh so it would be intersting to know if you felt any effects?

    Jac - Got the Bible for xmas, suppose I'll have time to read it now....oh and I got another book by some other bloke Darren someone, had never heard of him before but its quite a good book
  • iadamaiadama Posts: 60
    I had AT last month, and I'm just beginning to get back into running now after about 4 weeks off. In that time I was able to use the turbo trainer on all but one occasion - I got about 5 minutes into that session and the pain was just too much to bare so I stopped. My achilles was feeling quite weak before that session as I think the eccentric stretches I was prescribed by the podiatrist were actually making it worse rather than better. I stopped those stretches, but carried on with normal ones, and my achilles has been improving ever since.

    Incidentally, I got a foam roller yesterday, and it's highlighted one or two evil knots around my calf on the injured leg, so hopefully using the roller will help ease those and possibly improve my achilles.
  • This slightly smells over a doctor who is being very cautious in his diagnosis. I think if you went to a sport's physio they would give you a much more accurate time range for your recovery time from your injuries. What doctors often do is add a lot of time on to how long they think you should rest for because for them being cautious will not aggrivate the injury but also they dont consider your goals for training.

    I would suggest you self manage your recovery period and see how you go in terms of when you get back into things.

    One thing I would say is that getting 2 injuries after a months of training smells a lot like your program was initially a bit to heavy for what your body was ready for. Make sure you get your training program right when you get back into things and use the initial 2 months of the program to focus on technique and injury prevention (through strength, flexibility, and recovery sessions)
  • Jase, yep I cycled with no probs at all, although I do keep my foot very flat (horizontal) through my pedal stroke, thus not stressing the Achillies.

    Rush makes a couple of good points, over cautious GP ? and possible overtraining especially with the tedonitous.
  • pippip Posts: 170
    My advice is go to a good physio i had achilles problem last year and he said i shouldn`t be mollycodling it once the swelling had gone down but streching and doing some gentle running,as far as biking goes it never affected that at all
  • GHarvGHarv Posts: 456
    One thing I would say is that getting 2 injuries after a months of training smells a lot like your program was initially a bit to heavy for what your body was ready for.
    Having suffered from Achillies problems in the past - totally agree with this. Most AT problems from newer runners/triathletes will be from over doing it.

    Re solivng it rest of course but see a sports physio as recommended - 3 sets of ultra sound cleared mine.

    The advice was then what we read everywhere re running and tend to ignore becaude we know best - 10% per week. Always start your run with a walk of 3-5 minutes to warm up. Longer runs are not a sprint, so don't treat them that way. Try some compression socks for running your longer runs or for recovery.

    8 months to an Olympic is an eternity - you don't have to do it all in the first weeks as i read somewhere its getting there 100% healthy not 100% fit.

    G
  • definitely get to a decent phsyio.. You'll get some strength and conditioning exercises, do them regularily an hopefully your'll return fitter and stronger with less chance of re-occurances.

    In the mean time I guess you will be building a really good bike base.. after all it's all in the bike

    Oh and you might get the misfortune to have to do running in the pool as a start.. now that get's some funny looks.

    All the best with your recovery and traing. London is good event..

    Scotty
  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    With hindisight, your good month was probably over doing it a bit. I don't know if what your background is - but if you're returning to serious exercise/training after a lay off of some years then this is all to easy to do.

    a/The physio should give you some good exercises to do. Do them religiously! But don't over do it!

    Get some motivational/training books - now is the time to research where you went run. Remember that recovery is actually where you build you fitness... so make sure that recovery is planned as diligently as the punishment.

    The advantage of tri is that it is a multisport - so you've still got the bike left - it's low impact and should be OK to good for the ankle. Make sure your position is correct, so that you don't knacker your knees though

    Get into the gym and work out a good programme for strength and conditioning - this is for injury preventation and should focus not so much on weights but flexibility ligaments etc.

    You can do a lot of useful non-impact training on things like the rowing machine (once the shoulder is OK).

    Good luck!
  • Don't be down about the injury. It happens to us all. As everyone above has said, this is an opportunity to increase your strength.

    I got into the mindset of focusing on cardio training all the time, and didn't bother with any strength work in the gym. This soon led to injury, and I'm still fighting off illiotibial band issues now. A sports physio pointed me in the right direction. Strong core and glute muscles can prevent injury, and help you perform better in all your tri disciplines.

    Just because you're not beasting yourself in the pool, on the bike or on foot doesn't mean you're not getting any benefit. Use the time wisely with squats, lunges and weight work, and you're even faster when you get back to full training.

    Above all, don't put pressure on yourself. This is supposed to be fun!
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