I raced back to back race weekends of Ironman Miami and Ironman 70.3 Austin. Dense fog on the lake in the morning in Austin resulted in a 90 minute delay to the race followed by a swim cancellation. The race proceeded as a time trial duathlon of a 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run.
Duathlon is bike plus run ? Wagner Araujo
I raced Challenge Penticton long course nationals on Sunday. The date was exactly 20 weeks of recovery from my broken ankle. Writing all of these words in a post are a reason to celebrate: racing – Challenge- anniversary- recovery. I am lucky/happy/stoked/motivated to be where I am at right now as I was first out of the water, first off the bike, and pain-free for the running I completed.
Flying over the roads in Penticton, BC at Challenge Penticton. Thank you to Powerbar for fueling the trip; Trek, Bontrager, Shimano for offering a ride; Rudy Project for keeping my head and eyes safe and comfortable; Champion System for the comfy clothes; and Cobb Saddles for the comfy seat.
I visited Colin Beattie, BKin, MPt, CAFCI at Synergy Wellness Center in Victoria, BC to try out a therapy called voodoo flossing. Voodoo Flossing is a method using neurological modulation to help loosen and relax muscles to create greater range of motion in the body. I did some non-scientific Google research and it appears Voodoo Flossing is popular in the Crossfit community. I believe it has merit in treating the injuries common in triathlon.
I am very impressed with how it worked for my shin and ankle. Now that I am healing scar tissue in my ankle from a trimalleolar fracture, this technique is useful to create good range of motion in my ankle as I return to sport.
The actual “Voodoo” is created using a long elastic band which is like a common physiotherapy theraband, only thicker. After some gentle Graston scraping on the area, the band is tied tightly, but not painfully, around my leg. Despite my skepticism, I can’t deny that immediately my calf and ankle had a huge increase in range of motion. Read more for the full story… Read more
It has been 12 weeks to the day since I had my bike accident and broke my ankle. In this 12 week video update, I share a bit about the people that have helped me get back to speed so quickly and kept my attitude in check. Staying positive and engaged in the process of recovery has been the key to getting back in shape quickly.
Simple.
This injury has helped redefine and motivate my desire to race. I feel like I am among a new generation of athletes who continue to race into their 40s and remain competitive as elites. This isn’t “normal” and there is certainly some resistance to this notion. Although I am more of an outlier at the moment, I don’t think this will always be the case.
I am thankful to have great sponsors and supporters who believe that fast after 40 means REALLY FAST. I love the idea of helping to define what that is and work hard to set the bar as high as possible. I look to my contemporaries, athletes like Jo Pavey and Gunn-Rita Dahle, who are competing as top level elites in their sports (running and mountain biking) to help me decide what level I plan to compete at. The top level.
I am still looking at Kona in 2017.
Looking forward to setting some new benchmarks this season.
Thanks for following along.
xoxo Melanie ???
RICE is an acronym for REST, ICE, COMPRESSION and ELEVATION. This mnemonic dates back to the 1970s when a doctor came up with this prescription for healing that became the standard protocol to treat acute injuries.
RICE is an acronym for REST, ICE, COMPRESSION and ELEVATION and MEAT is an acronym for MOVEMENT, EXERCISE, ANALGESICS and THERAPY
More recent medical opinions suggest that both rest and ice can delay healing rather than promote it. Icing can reduce inflammation, and rest can promote joint rigidity, so movement without ice is suggested. The MEAT (MOVEMENT, EXERCISE, ANALGESICS and THERAPY) approach is considered particularly beneficial for ligament and tendon injuries. This all gets confusing when you deal with a trimalleolar fracture that compromises both bones and ligaments. What is the best approach if you have a combination of issues to resolve? Read more
Cross training for triathlon with a broken ankle still includes plenty of options if swimming, biking and running are off limits. I discovered there were ways to not only maintain fitness, but also improve, despite my current limitations in a “not weight-bearing” state.
Training injured, in the strictest sense, is NO DIFFERENT than training while healthy. A great training program focuses on all you can do at that moment so, injured or healthy, you focus on doing everything that you can THAT DAY.
Training injured, in the strictest sense, is NO DIFFERENT than training while healthy. A great training program focuses on all you can do at that moment to get better.
When I am healthy, if my legs are super tired from running, I might take a break and ride or swim. If my shoulders are maxed out from a lot of swimming, I might run a bit more and focus strength work on lower body. The key is to focus on what you CAN IMPROVE while your body is in repair mode or fatigued. Even while in the critical stages after ORIF surgery, there were ways for me to train and allow my body to heal.
So what did I do when I got injured and was told not swim/bike/run AT ALL (even swimming *sigh) for the first three and a half weeks? I focused on three areas where I could actively make improvement. Read more
Unfortunately, I crashed my bike and broke my ankle a bit over two weeks ago. My primary objective for 2016 is to win a full Ironman; a goal I will maintain this season.
I am really fortunate to have Dr. Brent Weatherhead as my orthopedic surgeon. He is an amazing technical surgeon and did an outstanding job to get my fractured ankle anatomically perfect so now we have a realistic plan and schedule to get me back to running full gas this season.
I know a LOT of pro triathletes who have dealt with and are dealing with injury – so my story is not unique. Triathletes and runners have different experiences with a broken ankle. If you found this post searching “exercises you can do with a broken ankle” and “triathlon training after a broken ankle” you are in the same mindset I was in the first two weeks after my crash. I promise you that it gets better after the first two weeks. I am posting these recovery updates to help educate you through MY experience and inspire you with what I found helpful and motivating. It is important to stay positive and focused during your recovery so let’s start with things you can do.
