The Results: IT'S NOT TERMINAL. I'M GOING TO LIVE. HALLELUJAH.
Okay, seriously. I didn't have high expectations going into this appointment because I knew exactly what she was going to say. "It's a strain. Ice it, and rest it"...and I imagine her saying it without sympathy, not even looking up from her chart to tell me. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that my injury needed ice and rest. But with all of my prejudices about this evaluation, I was actually pleasantly surprised at the overall outcome.
Yes, it was a strain. All those years as a student athletic trainer actually did me some good in college... I was right.
Yes, I needed to ice it. Again! Genius!
And yes, I did need to rest it.... she doesn't know me AT ALL! I gave her a "look" and took a breath in as I started to explain...
"I know. I know I need to rest, but the reality of it is, I've already PAID for this race...I've already PAID for my flight, so there is no way I'm skipping this event. I plan on running it, regardless of how my leg feels at the time. There will be plenty of time to hurt afterwards...and I'll deal with it then."
I waited for her to begin telling me how risky it was and that I should just stop running for now and pick it back up later, blah blah blah. But she didn't.
"Okay, Tiffany, when is this race?"
"February 6...so I only have about a month to--"
"And how many miles has your longest run been?" She cut me off!
"18, but I --"
"Okay, so I"ll tell you this right now, " This woman would not let me finish!
"This week, you need to cut WAY back on your miles. No more than 5 miles per day. And this Saturday? Don't run more than 12-13 miles. You can build back up to 20 after this week is over, so you have about 3 more weeks before you need to taper off before the race."
Taper off? What the hell, this woman knows a little bit about marathongs!
She continued. "Don't take more than 4 ibuprofen at a time, I want you to feel enough pain to know when to stop. I've trained for marathons, and you've already run 18 miles. You already have the ability to complete 26.2. What we need to do now is PREVENT further injury, but maintain your overall fitness level. Cutting back on the miles and the amount of days you run will help prevent you from becoming more injured, but you NEED to take it easy during the week and save yourself for the long runs."
DAYEMMM. TRUTH BOMB! I just got TOLD!
I don't know what it was, but for some reason, her words seemed to get through to me. Maybe it was because she was a doctor. Maybe it was because she specialized in sports. Or maybe it was because she's trained for marathongs in the past. She was just able to sympathize and understand what I wanted versus what I needed, and from that, she was able to find a consensus that would serve both. Whatever it was, I walked out of the doc's office feeling like all hope wasn't lost.
I had a plan. A real plan to get better and still be prepared for February 6. It's not the plan that I had set out, but it was a plan that would still help me get to where I wanted to go. And that's the important thing that I needed to realize today: I wasn't being stopped from achieving my goal. I was simply being shown a different route to my destination.
At the end of the appointment, she noticed what shoes I had worn into the office (boots with a heel) and asked me if I could wear sneakers at work to provide more support to my foot. I told her that it was against dress code to wear sneakers to work for those in my position, and then joked sarcastically while chuckling, "Well, maybe if I had a DOCTOR'S note..."
She cut me off one last time, "Oh, you need a note? No problem" and on her prescription pad, she wrote:
Tiffany was seen and is advised to wear sneakers at work through the end of February 2011.
I'M SO WEARING MY VANS TOMORROW :)
=) it sounds like your momma was right about getting checked out! i'm glad to hear this isn't a major set back. Rest Ice Compression & Elevation!
ReplyDelete