The Plan: Training and Goals Leading Up to the Race
- 10K Goal: Sub-38 minutes
- Training: ~35 MPW, track workouts weekly on Tuesdays, and long runs working up to 14 miles on Saturdays
The Incident
I made it to taper week with no problems. I felt good—not the strongest I’ve ever felt, but good enough to think a PR was possible. I’d also referred a couple of friends to the race, namely my good friend Jason and my girlfriend Kristen. Then Jason got his dad to sign up, and Kristen brought her sister Katie and a couple of her friends. We had a solid group!
But the day before the race, when Kristen and I decided to do our very first run together (an easy 2-3 miles around town), I hurt myself. There was nothing in particular that happened, just a pain that started in the first 20 minutes of running. I knew something was wrong within those first two miles and had a hard time making it back to the house without wincing every few steps.
Ultimately, I decided not to compete in the race. At that point, I had a strong feeling I probably shouldn’t try to run on it, especially given my injury history over the last two years. There were several times when my tight calves had sidelined me for 6 to 8 weeks, and I suspected something similar here. I assumed I’d pulled something or just needed to stretch my legs, but I wanted it checked out nonetheless. So, I booked a doctor’s appointment and sat tight for a week.
Now, at the top of my priority list was maintaining as much of my fitness as possible. I started going to the gym nearly every day between D-Day (day of injury) and diagnosis. Still having no clue what was wrong with my leg, I did some cycling, balance exercises, and stretches with PT exercises prescribed last year. I also followed the RICE protocol and used my foam rollers, massage tools, and Strassburg sock. In hindsight, this probably wasn’t the right thing to do, but we’ll never really know the impact.
It’s still wild to me: no pain at all unless I try to run on it.
The Results
I fractured my leg—a stress fracture in my right fibula, to be more specific. Once the X-ray scans were done and I’d been informed of the damage (and the 2 months of required rest), it was time to reevaluate my spring goals. I was upset, of course. I came home and wrote in my journal about how this meant no PRs for me this year. I realized I’d have to cancel my trip to Florida to visit my grandfather, and Kristen and I would have to reschedule our summer vacation to Colorado—both of which were planned for the next 3 months. More than anything else, I was frustrated with the timing of the injury.
The Cause
I don’t know the exact cause. My doctor and I discussed intensity, shoes, and nutrition. This wasn’t the highest volume I’d ever trained at (not even close—I was doing about 35 MPW), and I’d been running in those shoes for about 300 miles. The most likely suspect seemed to be my sleep and nutrition. In the last 6 months, there had been several lifestyle changes, and I was almost certain I wasn’t eating enough. My sleep was suffering, and I’d transitioned to working fully remote, so my social interactions—outside of a weekly (also remote) game session with friends—were at an absolute minimum. Not exactly what you’d call a particularly healthy place to be.
How Things Are Going Now
The immediate shock of having to rethink my day-to-day life has largely subsided. I’m not stressing about losing fitness since that wouldn’t be productive. Things will work out. I’m looking forward to coming back healthier, with the knowledge that I need to do a better job in other areas of life, not just running. I ordered a new pair of shoes and started adjusting my diet to get more calories—and calcium! Good things are coming out of this. Like how I wouldn’t have gotten this picture if I’d been running in the race 🙂
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