Time is FLYING, well relatively these days since I'm still questioning what day of the week it is. Apart from that though it's been a whole four weeks since my last round of prp.
While I can't run or do any cross-training yet, my hip almost feels normal walking, sitting, and going through my physical therapy exercises. Like before I had to hit reset on all activity leaving me in potato state for two weeks before starting very limited physical therapy. Last week when I resumed physical therapy it was back to square one again there too meaning lots of activation work. So two to three times a day I'd try to activate or rather flex my abductor or my glute or find my oblique within a movement the same way Uma Thurman starts out in Kill Bill with wiggling her big toe. This week I've gotten to finally move back to some light weight training.
With my therapy only taking up a pretty small portion of my day I've found myself living my life like a normal person my age. "Normal" in the sense that I don't have practices to attend or a need to track my food choices as closely to ensure I'm recovering properly because I'm just not doing much. I'm enjoying things like staying up past 10:00 pm and sleeping in until 8:00 am, spending a lot of time with Max which is bizarre since we typically don't spend more than a few hours a day together and not in quarantine we've probably spent the most time together we ever have. I'm also spending weeknights with friends or going out to eat (we can now do as NOVA has moved into phase three, allowing seating outside at restaurants at still limited capacity), things that definitely don't happen that often when I'm in training mode. So these are a few of the pluses of recovery right now.
In other news, this month marks two years since moving to DC and joining DTC. I can honestly say things haven't gone the way I planned. I didn't expect to run essentially a second off my PR in the 800 in my first year here or deal with an injury out of my control for the majority of my first season. I definitely didn't see this labral tear coming or the cancelation of the Olympic trials, but in a lot of ways, I still feel lucky. Lucky to have found a program that fits everything I was looking for in a team from culture to coaching, to have the support of medical professionals to help move me forward through my current process and to have this happen at a time when it seems like more and more athletes are now taking advantage these circumstances and similarly seeking treatment for nagging injuries. I'm happy that I started treating my injury a bit ahead of the curve and am still on track for a slow return to training in September.
Reflecting on my last two years here I decided to share a few bits of advice for college runners looking to make the jump into professional running:
Don't be afraid to reach out
Just like college recruiting it never hurts to reach out to current members of teams you're interested in. At this level especially teammates are important and having an environment you feel comfortable in. The more you can interact and get to know people the more you'll be able to make a sound judgment n whether or not it's the right fit for you.
Know your Needs
This sounds pretty straight forward, but knowing what your make or breaks are when it comes to joining a group helps narrow down options. It also helps you avoid making decisions solely based on funding, which can be tempting in a sport that isn't a moneymaker in the same way football, baseball, and basketball are.
Don't be afraid to Invest in Yourself
The biggest mistake you can make is taking for granted getting treatment and putting off the regular things like massage, ice baths, whatever you do, to stay healthy and keep your body happy. It's tempting, especially since things can be expensive, hard to get to when things are now spread out versus in one place on a college campus, and options are limited more than ever because of COVID, but make sure you're staying on top of taking care of yourself. I fully believe that my issues last year partially stemmed from a gap in my normal treatments.
Communicate with your Coaches
Let your college coach know you're interested in running post-collegiately and keep an open line of communication with them during the process. Chances are you aren't their first athlete who's thought of continuing on and the running world is a smaller community than you may think. You never know who they may know within it or what connections they could facilitate.
Stay ready
If your someone whos unsure if you are going to make the cut to be able to compete post-collegiately keep training and trying to hop in these guerilla races that are popping up all over the country. The worst thing you could do is cut your season or throw in the towel and if you have already consider getting back on the wagon now to try to compete in some of those races come August.
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