Katcycle, I'm so sorry. I'm dealing with my 2nd long-term injury, and I know how hard it is. I had shoulder surgery ~5 years ago and wasn't sure I'd ever be able to swim distances again. Full recovery took a year, and for the first few weeks, all I could do was walk and my official PT exercises, but I made it back to about 90-95%. Then about 7 months ago (3 weeks after I did IMTX), I was on my bike and collided with a car that pulled out in front of me. I've had complications and setbacks from what I thought was a minor injury, and under the direction of my PT, I am now allowed to get my heart rate all the way up to 103, which means I can walk an 18-min mile if it's flat and not too hot. If things go well for 24 hours after our session today, I get to bump it up to 110. I asked her today for her opinion of a best-case estimate for returning to training, and she said 1-4 months just to start training at the beginning. I'm 53, and I've learned that coming back from zero is a lot tougher than it used to be.
My tips for the mental stuff - feel free to "take what you like and leave the rest" - there's no right or wrong, just find what helps you!
1. It's ok to be sad, disappointed, frustrated, etc. - it is a physical and mental loss.
2. If you get too frustrated/sad/etc, talk to someone.
3. I balance staying involved (meetings, socials, volunteering, facebook) with staying home - sometimes it's just too hard to be happy for everyone who is planning the next race, and I try hard not to steal anyone's joy. I have a few good friends who know me well and help me through my "mental moments" but I try not to talk about me and my fascinating injuries all the time ;-) I volunteered at the Houston marathon on Sunday and enjoyed meeting new people, helping, and cheering on the runners, but by the end of our shift, I didn't feel great and went home instead of going to eat with the gang. I wasn't pouting, I just had a wicked headache and wouldn't have been good company.
4. One thing I haven't achieved - I should be eating for healing and weight control, but instead I'm eating for depression and as if I were training. I've gained 10-15 pounds since I got hurt.
5. I got involved with Team Red, White, and Blue, a group of veterans and civilians who try to help veterans acclimate back into society through sports. When people are talking about learning to walk with prosthetics or coping with post-traumatic issues, injuries, etc, it gives me a little bit of perspective.
6. I worked with a bunch of "newbies" who were afraid of open-water swimming. I took them to a small private beach and gave them a gentle intro to swimming in water where you can't see your hand in front of your face (typical of most Houston-area venues), and I swear I was SO proud of them when they overcame their fears. It helped me remember my start and the joy of triathlon when you're not obsessing over it.
7. Physically, do what you can for exercise - ask your Dr or PT what is safe. Can you swim once you're in the boot, maybe with a pool buoy? Upper body and core workouts? The key, though, is to be smart!! Patience isn't fun or easy, but it will pay off.
8. Don't give up hope. Sometimes my progress is so miniscule, or I have a setback, or the "exercises" I'm doing seem so lame, but I have a care team that I trust and if I look back at my notes, I am improving. I keep a log using the same format that I used for training, but now it's full of PT notes and symptoms - it's come in handy a few times when we were trying to figure out what provoked my symptoms.
Best of luck,
Diane
katcycle wrote:
Not to start off this thread on a sour note, but - I found out that my year is basically over. I need to have surgery that will have me completely non weight bearing for almost 2 months, plus another month in a boot, and it will likely be towards the end of the year before I can handle much stress on the injury. If this all works.
My ability to train has been declining, but very rapidly declining over the past two months. It's definitely time to address it, but I can't help but feel extremely depressed about what's coming. I've never been inactive for that long.
Any advice on how to deal with the mental challenges ahead? I seriously have no experience with this.