An injured runners weapon of choice, the Elliptigo.
After the No Time to Die Ultra I was broken and on my first run post event , the Thursday morning Yelo run, I blew up 5km into the 10km morning recovery. The last 5km back to Yelo was painful and I could feel all my tendons and leg muscles taught and ready to rip or tear. I put this down to little or no stretching since the last ultra and also not drinking enough liquids. I made an appointment with my dry needling guru, Myree , and that evening found myself on her massage bed in the world of pain that is a decent dry needling appointment. I normally avoid dry needling if possible as if it is done right it is so, so painful. Myree works miracles and she relieved the hamstrings that were tight as old buggery. Dry needling , done right, is very , very good at releasing muscle tightness but you certainly pay the price.
Thanks to Myree and some very string anti-inflammatories I was able to run the Melbourne marathon. As well as tight hamstrings I had felt a niggle on the inside of my right knee. The anti-inflammatories put an end to this but post marathon it returned with a vengeance. To this end I have only ran three times since Melbourne, in the last two weeks. This is not ideal with a 100 miler less than three weeks away and then my final backyard ultra of the season 6 days after that in Adelaide.
Running this event with a dodgy knee, high on anti-inflammatories, is not ideal especially with a backyard ultra in another state. South Australia, the following week. Then again at any start line you’ll find a high proportion of runners are carrying niggles or minor injuries, mental toughness, stubbornness and good drugs help carry the runner to the finish line, normally.
The beauty of the Pig…
After the Feral Pig miler I’m heading over to Adelaide to compete in the Hysterical Carnage backyard ultra. I was lucky enough to grab an assist to Phil Gore, the story of my life, in the inaugural year last year but had an extra week to recover after Feral. For some reason Shaun, the race director, has moved the events closer together ? I’ll be gutted to miss either of these events as both are so good and this is why I’m still desperate to run both, even though the timing really makes it suicidal.
Last few runners , probably around lap 30.
So if I am to spend some time on the sidelines I have a few toys to play with to help keep my cardio fitness high enough that I shouldn’t lose too much. My Elliptigo (https://www.elliptigo.com/ ) is great for longer distances as you can cruise around 20-25km/h , it is seriously good fun to ride taking you back to your childhood, just puts a smile on my face every time I use it. I also have a generation one Bionic , image below. This is an Australian made product but the company has unfortunately gone under due to dodgy Chinese manufacturing. It’s a pity as the Bionic is a seriously good running alternative and has the ‘airplane wing’ motion which is akin to running. It is a much harder ride than the Elliptigo and you’d normally average a few kilometres an hour less but also it works the body harder, making longer distances testing. The only issue with the Bionic is my rollers are starting to fail and there doesn’t seem to be any options for getting new ones, without these rollers it becomes unusable.
Bionic Gen1 , this thing is a monster !
With all injuries there are various stages, I wrote this post on the 5 stages of grief a few years ago when I recovering from a calf tear, I think. There’s be a few injuries over the years , I must admit to losing track.
The same stages apply to an injury.
My Daughter recounted this to me a few days ago in reference to my ongoing battle with injury. She reckoned I was moving into the depression stage and truth be told she’s probably right.
The 5 stages of grief can be virtually mirrored for injuries when you’re a runner. Well they work for me. The first stage is denial. For me this was probably as I hobbled over the road to Yelo to grab a coffee and muffin with the boys a week before the Bunbury Marathon. At the time I could just about hobble 10m’s but once I got settled in the cafe all talk was about the marathon in a weeks time. Not once did it cross my mind I may not make it. I had a calf knot which would either disappear itself with a bit of ‘pain ball’ magic or a trip to the physio and dry needling. Nothing to worry about. That was three weeks ago and I’m still lame, silly boy.
Next comes anger. Boy, I was angry on Thursday evening before the marathon when 7k into a 10k last run I pulled up lame and knew instantly I had rolled the dice one too many times. I was also angry at myself for ignoring the calf all week and just assuming it had come good on its own. In my defence I had ran twice with no issues so assumed all was ok. With hindsight I should have gone to the physio on Monday after the weekends 10k race and had some needling and massage on the calf. I reckon the physio could have got the know untangled intimate for Bunbury and I would be posting about my 42nd marathon finish rather than adding to another post on injury.
Next come bargaining. For me this was about convincing myself I’d be right in a few days after physiology. Again . no problem, I bargained my injury window down to a week max with the upside this would be good ‘rest’ time, something I never do normally.
Once bargaining fails it headlong into depression, which is where I am now. Depressed at what could have been and also depressed that I’m still injured and my 2 days blip has become a 3 week road block with little sign of abating. Worse still my last 7k run was as bad as the first run 3 weeks ago which started this sad tale, so after three visits to the physio and well over $150 out of pocket I’m back to the start, injured ! Oh yeah, I’m depressed. It gets even worse, I’ve had to resort to spending two hours a day on the bike to try and save my cardio fitness. This is depressing but also painful. How these cyclist breed is beyond me.? The family jewels have taken a right royal beating on the Perth bike paths and I either need to man up or get cycling shorts with more padding. (maybe a cushion! or even better a cushioned seat as the one I got seemed purpose built to inflict as much pain as possible. Maybe this is why cyclists spend so long in cafe’s drinking coffee and eating cake, to rest their ‘how’s your fathers’ ‘ )
Finally comes acceptance. I’m close to this stage currently as the Joondalup half in 2 weeks is now off the race calendar as is the 10k the following week. I realise that the 3 weeks of no running (with more time to come.) is too much for me to give a good account of myself at either of these races. I have no accepted missing the Perth marathon in June as this is an A goal race but I may have to reevaluate my predicted time. A lot will depend on Tuesday when I will slope off back to the physio and let his magic hands and needles do their best on my right calf.
Injury wise I’ve been lucky over the last 8 years. This is my fourth calf knot which accounted for maybe 4-6 weeks of no running, less than one week a year. I know that it about as good as you get but as I sit him typing away I’m not overly excited about my previous track record. If you’re a runner you get injured, this is as certain as the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening. How long and when depends on so many variables but I could kick myself for missing the signs (for missing substitute ‘ignoring’!) and allow the 2 day injury to morph into this 3 week (and counting) career threatening calf knot from hell. Off course I did sell my soul to the Devil for this good run but was hoping to get longer than 8 years. That’s the problem with dealing with Lucifer, just can’t trust him. Oh well, onwards and upwards, the bike is calling and how much more pain can the family jewels endure? Surely over time the jewels will ‘harden up’ or maybe they just fall off ?
I have also got my treadmill back, the one that I brought when we entered COVID lockdown early 2020 and then loaned out to Adam for a few years. I don’t think I’ve ever used it in anger truth be told but it should help as it’ll be easier on the legs, I can also add a good gradient if necessary ; without leaving my a garage. Not a fan of treadmills but I’ll get a TV set up in the garage and catch up on all my Netflix movies while exercising, winning.
My COVID treat..
Finally as prevention is better than cure I’ll be hitting my massage gun, every runner needs one of these , they are ace. I use an Australian made product, the Stryke recovery gun. ( https://www.strykerecovery.com.au/ ) I have had mine for over two years and it still does the job, I just need to use it more. This weapon has saved my life many times on the lionger ultras when you have time to really get into the aching muscles. This together with humantecar spray ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) and fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) are must haves for longer events and also injury prevention.
The running answer to eternal youth ?
So its on the treadmill for a week and then hopefully two weeks of training before its on the two hour bus ride from the Discovery Centre (the finish line) to the start line in the middle of nowhere on the Bibbulmun track for the midnight kick off. Where else would you rather be on a Friday night ?
Finally as always I give a shout out to three of my favourite products… fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I use this extensively towards the end of the race when my quads are hammered. It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.
Fisiocrem is a must have in your ultra box of tricks…
Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products) can be difficult to digest later in the event. From the website :-
As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority.
In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance.
In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born.
BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work!
BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!
Great hydration.
What can I say about HumanTecar, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !
