Teenage Mutant Injured Turtle

Two of these words apply – which ones?

So, after my 15 km run, I had a tight, sore ITB.

ITB issues strike fear into the heart of runners. And coaches. So the head coach told me to take a week off. And cross train. Cross train….hmmm.

But it was my birthday last week! Flirty-free (33)! I had a party! A bottle of moet to drink.

A grant to write. Hence no cross training or any other active recovery/restorative.

So I headed out last Sunday for a 25km run. The ITB felt tight from the very beginning. I stopped and had a stretch at 2km. At 4.5km I saw Coach Richard, who is running 3000 km for charity, or something mad like that.

He said: “Go home, spend what time you were going to spend on running, on stretching and foam rolling. Get that foam roller, find the spot where you are tight and lean on it till you are crying. You’ll be alright, distance running is all about managing injuries”. And then he told me about how he ran the Everest Marathon after a month off with Injury.

I walked back to the car, cursing myself. A bit of panic set in. Then I calmed down. I went home and did what Richard said.

I have the bruises to show for it. But the ITB is feeling much better. So much so that I went to training, and had no gip from it!

So the plan is this, now:

-recover actively – pool, stretching

-eat well (I have not been, now I am)

-get iron levels checked (tick – love making to do lists and putting something I have already done on there so I can tick it off).

-stay calm.

Life is good. Know why?

I have made a conscious decision to stop longing for things. I have spent much of my life longing for something I cannot put my finger on. Instead, looking into what my needs are, and attending to them as best I can, without unduly relying on others. And, of course, acknowledging and being grateful for the things I have.

I saw a poem from the gorgeous Phil, I stumbled on it a few days ago, I remember reading it when it was posted in April 2011, but it rings especially true now

“After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand
and chaining a soul, 

and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning 

and company doesn’t mean security, 

and you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises, 

and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, 

with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child, 

and you learn to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans 

and futures have a way of falling down mid-flight. 

 

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much, 

so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, 

instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. 

 

And you learn that you really can endure … that you really are strong, 

and you really do have worth, 

and you learn, you learn, with every goodbye.”

(poem written by Veronica Shoffstall)