P is for Pre-hab

In 6 weeks, I will be racing in my first ½ Ironman triathlon. And while I’d previously said that I’m going to wait and see how that goes, I’ve pretty much decided that I’m going to do IMC next year (or bust!) That means that I have 16 weeks until I need to be in Penticton to sign up and another 52 weeks to get ready after that. 68 weeks in total. While the distance scares me, what scares me more is my body crapping out on me while I’m trying to get ready for it.

When I first started doing triathlons, I discovered something that was relatively unknown to me until that point: sports injuries! Sure, I’d had my share of bumps and scratches but never anything that a few days of R&R couldn’t fix. How life has changed.

Shin-splints were my delightful introduction to running injuries which were followed by knee problems, compartment syndrome and a torn quad. Good times! I’ve also managed to wear the sheathing off a nerve in my foot (biking) and hurt my shoulders (repeatedly) while swimming. Fortunately, this was not all in the same season!

Everybody knows that many sports injuries are related to tight muscles and can be avoided by doing sufficient amounts of stretching. This year, I acknowledged the fact that I don’t stretch enough and took up yoga as pre-hab (beats the hell out of rehab!) That’s been pretty helpful but I still found that my calves were really tight. Since most injuries below the knee tend to be related to / aggravated by tight calves, I’ve started seeing a massage therapist whenever I’m unable to loosen them by stretching. Net result? In spite of higher training volume this year, I remain injury free.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

-- Benjamin Franklin