Five weeks ago I was super stoked for what was ahead of me. I was in Washington with my family on an extended Christmas vacation, preparing for the USATF X-C National Championship. I was doing awesome with my training and everything seemed to be in my favor. Then one day I felt some pain in my right leg. I thought it was shin splints but by the next day it had migrated to my lower calf. Then I reasoned that it was probably a pulled muscle. But the next day it started to twinge uncomfortably just above my anklebone. I knew I had to stop running... I had a stress fracture. The best cure for that type of injury is rest :( I'd gotten stress fractures before in college but I always ran through it because that's what stupid college runners always do. But I didn't want to make the fracture worse and be out for the season. At the same time I still wanted to stay in shape so I could compete at the Championships.
My only option was to cross train - ugg. So the next two days I hopped on a bike, but that didn't make my injury feel any better. So my last option was the pool. I used to be a pretty good swimmer, but that was way back in junior high. So I resolved to DWR (deep water running) or aqua jogging. DWR is pretty tricky to master and you have to be super focused every minute you spend in the water. I had to constantly focus on maintaining proper form, and ensure that my tempo was still on pace. It was amazing how difficult it was to be in the water. Every muscle from my shoulders down had to work twice as hard, and it burned like crazy. The worst part about DWR was the hunger - I burned 1/3 more calories that I did running so I had a voracious appetite. It's a good thing my Mom cooks the best home meals on the planet or I might have starved to death.
I would highly recommend DWR for anyone who has an injury but still wants to stay in shape. Being in the water can help you maintain your fitness for at least 6 weeks (which is usually how long it takes to fully recover from most injuries). The best part about DWR is you don’t feel any pain because gravity isn’t working against you. You can maintain complete fluid motion in the pool. For anyone interested on learning how to DWR here is an awesome link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsamCiwQ9Ww
The nice thing about this tutorial is it provides you with the stride count you need every 5 seconds to be on pace. In order to get a more precise step count I would recommend that you count your strides for an entire minute.
For example: 10 steps per every 5 seconds x 12 (because 5 goes into 60 seconds 12 times) = 120 steps per minute for warmup pace
12 x 12 = 144 steps per minute for LSD (long slow distance)
15 x 12 = 180 steps per minute for tempo
18 x 12 = 216 steps per minute for race pace
20 x 12 = 240 steps per minute for sprinting
When you are DWRing it is extremely useful to use an aqua jogger belt. It provides more buoyancy on your back so you can exercise with proper running form. Most athletic gyms have belts readily available (since they use them for swimming classes), or you can purchase them online for about $15.
Anyway, back to my story… Two weeks before the race I was ready to go back to running but I jumped the gun too soon and tweaked the fracture again. So another anxious week was spent in the pool. All I could do was hope that I'd be ready to run on race day. There were so many people depending on me, and dozens others who had sacrificed so much to help me along, and I didn't want to let them down. The moment of truth came, and.... success. I was able to run without feeling any pain... but I only had four days till the race. Now I had to make sure the pain wouldn't come back. The day before the race I got to preview the course. I just about gagged and ran away - it was ridiculous! I couldn’t believe they were making us run a 10k on seriously one of the hilliest courses in the nation. There was only one flat part the entire loop for about 20 meters. The rest was either straight up or down. Oh yeah, did I mention we had to do the same 2k loop 5 times over? I was so nervous the night before because I had no way of knowing whether being in the pool for the past 4 weeks had done me any good.
Finally race day arrived… I won’t spill the blow by blow details of what happened except of how proud I am of our team. We are the official 2016 USATF X-C Team Champions!!! I promised myself before the race that I would be grateful for whatever happened, so here is what I am grateful for: I have the mostest awesome team to race with - the lovely Boise Betties; I have amazing sponsors that I can’t even begin to describe how much they do for me - Bill’s Bike and Run, and Teton Toyota; I have the most supportive family who is my biggest cheer section at every race; I have a super awesome coach who is willing to train me without getting anything back; and an awesome community that has my back wherever I am (aka visiting teachers, fellow church members, neighbors, friends, runners, fellow coaches and athletes, and countless others).
