It has been 7 months since I suffered a concussion, whiplash, and soft tissue damage through my upper back and right shoulder as a result of a head-on collision with another swimmer in the pool. I almost wrote “time flies” but that would be a lie. Most days, especially early post-injury, time did anything but fly. It seemed as if I was in slow motion, while the rest of the world zipped by. After weeks of appointments, numerous toddler-like meltdowns, and binge-watching Netflix in place of swim/bike/run training, it was time to get moving one way or another. My physiotherapist and doctors encouraged active recovery and I wasn’t about to argue!

I logged into Training Peaks and started to keep track of my activity. My “workouts” were mostly walking on an indoor track (no need to risk falling on the ice), some easy swimming with a snorkel to avoid head rotation, and some indoor cycling. Oh and lots of stretches and strength exercises!

My goal (other than to heal!) was to build my base fitness so I focused on increasing exercise volume without worrying about intensity; everything was easy, easy effort. I won’t lie, I was quite down during this time; missing my old lifestyle and unsure if I’d ever be able to get back to the level of training I loved so much. However, recording everything in Training Peaks kept me motivated and I started to structure my days with early morning rides, lunch swims or walks and/or evening walks. I soon didn’t have time for my Netflix-watching self-pity parties! Don’t get me wrong, I still had many difficult days over the next few months as I learned to be patient with the non-linear healing process. While I didn’t always see daily improvement (and certainly had some setbacks), overall I was making steady progress and I tried to focus on the big picture.

Here are some additional notes on my return to swim/bike/run training:

Swimming:  Early in recovery, my swims were ~10 min and my hot tub time was triple this. Not the best ratio for improving fitness! I gradually increased my swim distance, incorporating drills and focusing on form and staying relaxed. Staying relaxed is especially important because the muscles that tend to tense (whether during exercise, at the computer, or as a result of other life stresses) are those that affect my injury site the most. I also had some right shoulder/arm muscle atrophy (I’m still working on this with strength exercises) but slowly my stamina improved. After months of swimming entirely with a snorkel and pull-buoy I started to reduce my reliance on these and my swim sessions are now pretty much back to what they were pre-injury. Interestingly, my swim times now are not that much different than pre-injury but yet my effort is less, likely because I’m more relaxed. A lot of people have asked me if I’m nervous in the pool since the collision. I’m not nervous, but it doesn’t matter what pace time I’m trying to hit, I will never again start back down the lane without making sure it is clear. Safety first!

Cycling: I started with easy cycling using my mountain bike on the indoor trainer; my mountain bike allowed for very upright posture through my neck and upper spine. I started with 10 min easy spinning and in the beginning I had to wear an ice pack on my back to dull the pain, but I was determined to stick with it. I progressed to 60 min continuous on my mountain bike before I tried my road bike inside. My first road bike attempt on the trainer was a disaster (too much pain) and I was crushed at this set-back. Eventually this improved and I started using Trainer Road for some actual workouts, which was a big step forward! In the first few months I focused on increasing exercise duration with little intensity. I did some of the longest trainer rides I’ve ever done which bodes well for any future long-course triathlon plans 🙂

A strange experience was post-concussion vertigo and dizziness on the bike trainer, where I felt like I was falling yet the bike had not moved. I worked on this with some vision-related exercises and this has improved a lot. I still have trouble in busy places, like malls or airports and on rides at the fair; oh wait, I never did well on those rides to begin with!

When I got the thumbs up to ride outside, a challenge I wasn’t expecting was the impact of bumpy roads through my upper back and shoulder. I had to dial it back a bit until my body got used to this, but I’m now good to ride outside on multiple days a week, although I do seek out smooth roads where possible! A fantastic addition to my training has been joining the Speed River Cycling Club. Although I’m originally a runner (and I do love to run), I absolutely LOVE to ride my bike! I started with the Wednesday social club ride and for an added challenge I’ve gone out with the Thursday B group. Some rides go better than others, but I’m sticking with it! I’ve met some great people and I’m getting lots of practice at following a wheel in a pace line!

I’ve also really enjoyed riding with athletes from the Discomfort Zone triathlon club for some long Saturday rides. A huge thanks to coaches Mike M and Mike C for letting me tag along and introducing me to lots of great routes and coffee shops, like the Tin Roof in Erin. In fact, this ride to Erin was my first ever 100+ km ride!

I have recently progressed to my triathlon time trial bike on the indoor trainer and, although it was uncomfortable at first, I am now feeling quite good in the aero position. Next step will be to ride this bike outside, but for now my road bike is seeing lots of action!

Walking with progression to running: Early on in my recovery I walked. A lot. I had less pain on the days that I walked and this motivated me to walk as much as I could every day. In the early days, I glared at anyone (sorry if it was you!) I saw running. The glare was really to hide the tears; some days I just couldn’t hide them; seeing runners made me sad. This eventually got better and I started to enjoy the walking more, especially when the snow and ice were gone and I could get outside!

 

I tried to structure my walks like a running schedule; a long walk, hill repeats, short tempo walks, etc. I think my longest walk was 15 km; by then it was getting a bit ridiculous as it was taking too much time. Early on I had tried deep water running in the pool but it was too painful to hold my head/neck in that position. Fast forward a few months and I was able to pool run to add some intensity (90 sec hard, 30 sec easy type stuff); more progress! I started adding on some water running after each swim and soon I was running out of hot tub time. In April, I got the go-ahead for the elliptical trainer at the gym. I did well with this and soon after I was allowed to start very easy 1 min on/2 min off jogging on the treadmill. I was thrilled! This also meant I could scrap the pool running and have more hot tub time 🙂

It was awhile before I was allowed to jog outside, but I eventually got there! Throughout May and much of June, I mostly walked/jogged as I got used to the impact through my upper back/neck and right shoulder blade area. I’ve been very cautious about increasing running intensity and duration and I’ve had to accept that it will take time for my paces to come down. My continuous easy run is stretching out and yesterday I did 5 x 1 km at tempo effort! The best part is that nothing is feeling any worse and as long as I’m careful to stretch, massage (lacrosse balls are my new favourite must-have item!), ice, etc. I am recovering well after workouts. I pay much more attention to post-exercise recovery now than I ever did before, which I see as a positive change!

Team LPC and Coach Mark: In late April I felt that I was ready to re-join team LPC! I had a meeting with Coach Mark to talk about my progress, plans, goals, etc. I  was nervous about this meeting as I felt like my new goals were not quite up to par. Whereas last year I was targeting “podium finish in Olympic distance” and “new 10K run PB in the fall” this year I was aiming for “increase swim distance and comfort in open water” and “increase bike duration and group riding skills”. Regardless of the target, I thrive on having goals and my meeting with Coach Mark and re-joining LPC was a major turning point in my progress!  Mark also ensures that I take some recovery days and that I don’t attempt to progress faster than is reasonable, like when he (ever so politely!) stopped me from jumping in on the 160km Tour de Grand in Cambridge, when really 72km was a big enough ride that day. Thank you, Mark!

At the end of May I participated in the LPC Training Day at Guelph Lake. This was an awesome day of seeing friends and teammates and pushing myself a bit harder without any ill effects; more progress and tons of fun!

I hadn’t really planned on any races early (if at all) in the season, but in June I seemed to turn yet another corner (I’ve learned there are MANY corners in recovery!) as I was finally off all pain medication (yay!) and I was starting to see some steady progress in my running. So on June 25 I did the MultiSport Welland Give-it-a-Tri: 400m swim, 10 km bike and 2.5 km run. I had a ton of fun and I made it on to the overall podium as 2nd female overall (4th overall in the race) plus an age-group win!

Seven months ago I didn’t think I’d ever race again, so the event in Welland had me smiling from swim start to finish line!

There are many, many people to thank for helping me through this rough patch. My husband, Glenn, and our children deserve medals for putting up with the worst of my negative moods and meltdowns.

My family and friends have provided amazing support and encouragement. Various doctors, specialists and, most notably, my physiotherapists Denise Mortley and Alyse Hodgins (University of Guelph Health and Performance Centre), my RMT Aita Herdman and my pilates instructor Sarah Roberts (Pilates in Guelph) have been tremendously helpful with treatment plans, advice, and encouragement throughout this process. I can’t overstate how incredibly grateful I am to all of those who have helped me through this.

What’s next? I’m going to keep enjoying summer training and, although I’m not making too many race plans just yet, I do have my eye on a sprint triathlon later in the summer, as well as the C50 Subarau Centurion bike road race in Blue Mountain in mid-September.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your summer!

Cheers,

Lindsay