Triathlete and Role Mother Sarah Wassner Flynn has had a long career that has mostly been injury-free, but it’s only because of a pivotal moment in college that changed how she looked at training and mileage. Here, she described the running injury that gave her a new perspective.
Present-day Sarah, who learned a solid lesson from college Sarah.
As a freshman in college, after weeks of excruciating lower leg pain with every step I took, I was diagnosed with a tibial stress fracture. Those three words are toxic to a runner; an automatic layoff with no other treatment than to rest and heal.
As a young runner hungry to prove myself on the collegiate stage, I was devastated. Would I ever be able to make up the seven weeks of lost training? I turned to the pool, aqua-jogging every workout my teammates did on the track. I biked, I lifted, I iced, I stretched, and I relaxed.
Being sidelined was frustrating, but it helped me come to the realization that I had been over-training prior to my injury. Upon entering college, I had greatly increased my mileage and was running harder than ever–an unsustainable approach to training. So when I finally got the go-ahead to start running again, I was a smarter, more careful runner. I was more aware of my limits and stayed within them to avoid another injury. To this day, I remain a lower-mileage runner, focusing more on quality than quantity, and I’ve fortunately been able to avoid another fracture.
How have your injuries taught you or changed your perspective?
I too was sideline two years ago with a tibial stress fracture that eventually ended up needing surgery. I had been running 6 days a week, sometimes even two a day. I spent my time recovering cycling, swimming and aqua jogging. One, I returning to running stronger and smarter. I listed to my body now. Taking of one week of running when my leg talks to me is much better than running through and ending up with the potential of a much longer recovery. Secondly, I kept the cycling and swimming up and signed up for my first triathlon. I’ve done multiple sprints and Olympic distances, completed my first half-ironman in April and will take on my first full ironman in 3 weeks.
I also injured my Achilles, which I beleive was a result of overuse. The injury forced me to take 3 weeks off of running, and take up rowing, cycling, and swimming. The cross training really helped me become stronger and a better athlete overall, and have included cross training into my weekly routine. And I signed up for my first triathalon! I’m guessing a large percentage of triathaletes are injured runners ;)
I have learned from my various injuries to be in tune with my body, especially since I am an older runner of many years. The worst injury I have had was a chronic achilles issue that kept mre from running Boston with no running for months. I have also learned to try not to overcompensate my form when running with pain or injury, as that causes more issues to emerge ( I had hip pain on the opposite side of my achilles injury for months). Cross training is a must when injured, as it keeps me sane and my helps my body to heal. I have also gone to great sports doctors and a chiropractor that specialize in helping runners overcome their injuries.