The Injury Monster

 

Something I have noticed that I share with some of my sporting friends on Instagram and Facebook, is a dread of injury interrupting the rock-solid training schedule that we push ourselves to maintain. There has been enough stress for over past year, with all aspects of our lives buried under the Covid cloud. We are though, a determined band of hard-line triathlete’s living with their hearts and souls set on being ready, when eventually, there will be an event that does not get postponed for the third time.

 

On flicking through the Instagram posts each morning, it seems that our many hard worked muscles, lead from the darkness inside our super stressed minds almost every day, that there has been a well tightened muscle that has pinged out painfully in protest to all work an no play regime. I do think that the added stress of this time in all or our lives, has caused many of the injury’s that I have read about. So, if some other negative thing bursts into your life unexpectedly, you can well build up so much tension that can in all honesty cause something to give out suddenly and badly.

 

I have suffered from pre-race nerves from the very beginning of my very long career in the sport, to the point where before a big race, the second Steve moved to pull up the zip of my wetsuit, that my body would take that as a cue to throw-up anything I had made the mistake of eating for breakfast. I never eat before a race now and have not for many years.

So, living with our races being cancelled or postponed again, it builds that old stress bank up like an oncoming storm. In the light of a recent extra dose of worry and upset, my body reacted to the tension by seizing my back up violently, to the point where I could hardly move and most certainly could not move without pain. 

 

Of course, it is freaking well annoying, when you get a, ‘stopped you in your tracks’ happening.However, it is best to just try to be a little stoic about the whole thing.From my own point of view, I am glad that it has happened now, when my first three events have been moved for the second time.

Now I have time to do what we all know is the only option which is to take time off and allow the stress to dissipate and those poor old seized up muscles to slowly loosen out again. 

My back has been so bad, that the only two positions I could manage after a slow painful struggle, were either to lie down flat or after an even bigger struggle stand up straight. Sitting down in my great big Eezi-boy arm-chair with my legs elevated to watch TV was a complete and utter NO-NO.

Sitting rigidly upright, supported by hard pillows, with my feet square on the floor, just about allowed me to sit and eat. This is why any action photos of me of late on social media sites have been from my photo memories.

It has been a slow process. 

 

 

I have tried to breathe deeply and slowly and try to stay calm which is almost impossible for me since I am a world class fidget.

I have read a lot of books and listened with Steve to others on audible.

Thank God and all the angels I am starting to move and breathe normally again and have taken a couple of woodland walks but much slower than usual.

Try to find to relax and do more gentle stretching is my advice.

It is not the end of the world to pull a muscle or two.

Time is indeed a great healer.