The Sudden Value of REST

It has been almost a month since my last posting, and I can say for certain that I am now officially in training for the Ironman. This past month has been full of ups and downs, some times leaving me to question whether or not this race was even going to happen for me. Towards the end of June, I did a 3.5 hour ride on Saturday followed by 1.5 hours on Sunday. On Tuesday of the next week, I was out to dinner with my mom and I completely lost the feeling in my right foot from the ankle all the way to the toes. The numbness lasted for 2 days and then I started to get a mild burning sensation all the way down my leg. Over the next few days, the burning sensation intensified to the point that I could not sleep at night. I went to my general practitioner and he diagnosed it as a pinched sciatic nerve. This was not a good prognosis because it usually means that there is a herniated disc in the lumbar spine that is pinching the nerve. The only way to get better is to completely rest it, meaning no biking or running. Needless to say, there were some dark days in there where I thought this Ironman dream was over. Luckily, my coach told me about ART-Active Release Therapy, and she suggested that I seek out an ART specialist in Atlanta. I looked online and found 1st choice health center in Decatur. I went and saw Dr. Sadri, a truly amazing man, who looked me over and talked with me about my training and injury history. After some time, he diagnosed that I did have some nerve issues, but that they were not being caused by anything in the spine. Instead, he thought that the muscles in my leg were actually tightening around the nerve, causing the burning. For treatment, he performed a technique called Graston. Graston is essentially a large version of a butter knife that is used to perform a deep tissue massage on injured areas. It was, in a word, painful. After the Graston, he performed the more traditional Active Release Therapy technique. In my case, he referred to it as "flossing the nerve." He would put me into very intense stretching positions and then press very hard on the nerve area and have me move my foot back and forth so that the nerve would slide under his finger. Again, very painful. However, after a 30 minute treatment, I felt 100 times better. No more burning or numbness. I visited him 5 more times over the next few weeks and I am happy to report that the pain is almost completely gone.
So, that is a glimpse at the emotional roller coaster that my life has been over the past few weeks. As for the training, that has really been the easy part. Being injured makes you appreciate training so much more because you have a brief look at what life would be without it. For me, that is not a good place to go. So, I have really appreciated every swim, bike, and run over these weeks of injury. This past weekend, I got a real taste of Ironman training. My friend Erik accompanied me to Charleston, SC for a weekend of tough workouts. On Saturday, I completed a 5.5 hour ride, followed up by an easy 2 mile run just to let me know what it feels like to run on legs that just biked 110 miles. We recovered and then hit it again on Sunday with a 2.5 hour ride and a 45 minute swim. So, over the course of 2 days I trained 9 hours, biking 160 miles. It was a great confidence boost for me to know that I can ride almost the equivalent of the Ironman bike leg and then come back the next day to ride an additional 50 miles.
This week is a rest week and I am really enjoying the time off. I used to worry that I was losing my fitness during these weeks, but I am convinced that resting is the best form of training. The last three weeks have been intense, logging over 450 miles on the bike, 70 miles on the run, and 30,000 yards in the pool. The muscles need time to recover from being brutalized day after day. It is actually in the recovery phase that muscles grow the most. The same holds true for increasing endurance...it improves during times of rest.
So, we are headed up to the mountains this weekend where I can find total relaxation. I will nap and eat good food and breathe clean air all weekend.
Coming up, I have a 2.5 hour run to look forward to next week and we are building up to a 6.5 hour ride in mid-August. Needless to say, it will all be a challenge. But, this is the path one chooses when preparing for an Ironman.
Thank you all for putting up with me through this. A special thanks to Anne who stands by me through injuries, trips to Charleston without her, and constant complaining about how tired and hungry I always am.