With five months to go until my first IRONMAN, the long training weeks have finally caught up on me. After a week of denial and trying to ignore the fact that I feel pain whenever I run, it’s time to accept that I’ve injured myself.

It’s hard to not get upset when something like this happens, especially when you have worked hard to get to where you are. I have been really lucky over the past few years to not have had too much time off training due to injuries, but I know well enough that the sooner you get real about your recovery, the sooner you can get back out on the road.

By being positive about what you are going through it can help you get motivated to get yourself healthy again and get back into training. For me, the following is what I will be focusing on:

Look to your weaknesses
On the bright side, this injury has not stopped me from riding and swimming. It’s time to rewrite my training plan over the next few weeks and get my focus more heavily on my swim and bike legs. I have needed a new indoor bike trainer for a while and this is a great reason to upgrade, as well as motivate me to use it.

Cross Train
What else can you be doing? Walking is actually something I enjoy and prescribed by my chiropractor. It will also be a good time to work on my core to make sure I can limit these things from happening again and allow me to get back to top speed as soon as possible. It might also be time to look at some of the other machines in the gym like the rowing machine or elliptical trainer.

Rehab
Lots of stretching, massage, ice, sessions with my chiropractor and a little bit of yoga will be on the agenda. I always wear compression pants underneath my everyday clothes and the next few weeks will be no exception.

Nutrition
The slight slow down in my training is giving me the perfect excuse to remove all sugar, and processed carbs from my diet. If you do have a major slowdown in training, it could be wise to keep an eye on your nutrition, as you don’t to be carrying around extra weight when you return to full training.

Help out Others
There is still a lot you can do even if you are held back to only be doing minimal training. Read up on new training methods, support you local tri club, volunteer at races and do you best to get even more motivation to get yourself back to 100% health. Start a meetup group and get other involved in your sport in your local area.

Vince Sesto

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