“I like to talk about managing pain, and now I have another grand opportunity.” –Me
Have you ever quit your job, gone on your first freelance video shoot, slipped on a throw rug, and slammed your ribs into the corner of a hard wooden table two weeks before your Ironman? If not, I’m about to tell you how that feels.
Ever since the injury I have mainly been dealing with the pain of . . . breathing, which is a great problem to have when you’re heading into a 12-hour endurance event. The worst part is, it happened just as I was starting to feel good about the race.
I had been swimming every day (not long) and really dialing in my form. For kicks I swam the next day and had to stop at 400 meters.
It’s not excruciating pain, but a nuisance for sure. To make it worse, I tried a little jogging on Saturday and every time I landed it was irritating. So, we can add bruised rib to the strained Achilles/Plantar Fasciitis questions revolving around my run.
The good news: It happened at the start of my taper. Maybe it’s a spiritual sign. Maybe it’s a way for higher powers to hold me back and make sure I rest and recover.
I’ll take a little bike ride this afternoon and see how that goes, but find this to be an incredible test of patience.
On one hand I am sort of comfortable because I’ve always believed exercise should give you energy and not take it away. On the other, I have typically been the “cram all night for an exam” kinda guy.
But I believe preparing for months is always better than jamming it all into a few days. I have to trust the weeks, months, and last year have gotten me to a point where I am ready to cover 140.6. And honestly, I do believe that, but the question is always, “How well will I cover it?”
We’ll find out soon.