Life often does not go to plan. I can totally relate to that these past few months! I started training for my Keep it Moving Expedition Run in December and January feeling very enthusiastic and motivated: both getting out on the trails and working in the gym. I was getting fitter and stronger and feeling good! Then – life got in the way…
One of the reasons that I set myself the goal of doing this big expedition run is because I am coming back from two health issues: a chronic knee injury (which is not gone, but I have been managing), and two hernia surgeries, in 2017 and 2019.
Things were going great. I did a fantastic run (remember, my definition of “trail run” includes power-walking, especially the uphills!) in mid-January – see the film in my previous blog post – then promptly afterward re-injured my knee. (I was trying a new sideways move I invented in the gym – dumb idea).
The knee injury was nothing major; it just meant I needed to go easy for a week or two. However, just as it was starting to improve, my husband became seriously ill.
Dave spent more than two weeks in ICU and another three weeks recovering at home. Fortunately, he seems to have fully recovered – but for a few weeks it was not clear that he would. Needless to say, the only high heart-rates I achieved during that period were due to stress, not to working out!
So I lost nearly two months of precious training time – due to both training setbacks and life setbacks.
All I managed to do were some brisk but short walks with the dog most days (very appreciative of all of the trails right in town here in Port Alberni!).
Once it was clear that Dave was finally getting better, I headed out on my first longer hike – and I sprained my ankle! Not a bad sprain, but definitely not what I needed. I’m back on the trails, but still very cautiously – I absolutely don’t want to disrupt the healing.
But what do you do? What can you do? Sometimes life just gets in the way.
And you know what? I am still excited about my goal and I am still going to do it!
If this were actually an ultramarathon race that I was entering, it might be a bit tougher – knowing I might not meet the time cut-offs. However, for what my goal is, I need to do the distance, but I don’t care about my speed.
My Juan de Fuca run will be an ultramarathon distance (47 km) but, unlike a race, there will be no time cut-offs. I can start as early as I want, and finish as late as I need to – and that is what I will do to make it happen. I am back to training, fitting it in with my other obligations (I am taking a full-time course right now), and focussing on improving my strength and endurance by doing back-to-back days – something I will write about shortly – to keep myself, if not actually fast, at least strong so I can just go and go and go.
Because that’s what this whole thing is about: keeping it moving!
My Keep it Moving solo expedition run is set to take place in late May, and the short film will be released towards the end of 2021. Find out more by exploring this site, or by signing up for updates here – I will never spam you or share your info!
Keep It Moving 2021 