Wicklow way and back to rehab

It’s weird how things change so quickly and only now reflecting back on the past months…i can somehow see clearly things i couldn’t see earlier..but obviously i was also oblivious for too long.

After World trail championships, i felt great, in fact i was in such a good and happy place..both with my legs and my heart. Then, my mountain fever popped up and i registered with Wicklow way…and i knew this would be a good reason to keep me ‘warm’ thorough dark and cold November.

Again, i never got back to full time running…i just couldn’t…in fact, although i felt good i was pretty exhausted and i could not run much, except few commutes and weekend fantastic runs in Nuuksio with HTRC (Helsinki trail running club). Those weekend runs were my favorite….i met there great people, and it was such an excellent training….i managed run few great runs, fall down several times, with one time almost breaking my teeth on a night run…but hey…at least my legs were fine…or sort of…

Few weeks back, after coming home from an easy commute from gym, i had slight pain on my foot. I didn’t think it was serious, so i didn’t run few days and then gradually tried to run….the pain got back and went away…but it never disappeared…and on top of that for the past months i’m suffering from ongoing pain in the lower left side of my back. yes, a whole bunch of injuries or i don’t know even how to call them….and the weirdest thing of all….i barely run ….yes , i do race..but my training is mainly …well, cross-training…40-50 km per week….that’s nothing…that’s like really nothing. I should be running at least between 80-110km per week to train properly but i can’t.. and i accept it…but it never gets easier when there’s pain and you don’t even know where it’s coming from or why…

And so i came to Ireland…i must say it was love from first sight…the pubs, the people, the mountains, Dublin, the food….just a perfect mixture…all i want to do is run all day on the Wicklow mountains and have an after beer party in one of the pubs…

We stayed with a very nice lady and she even took us very early to the start line. Unfortunately, we (me and Jo) arrived just the day before so there wasn’t too much of resting..

On the way to the start line i managed to talk with perhaps one of the most inspiring runners i’ve ever met….and among them one of the best ones in Ireland….the one who has FKT on the whole Wicklow way !!!

This race reminded me once more, that local small races , have something so unique and special in them…the small community where everyone knows each other is so different from races where about 1000 runners who don’t even know each other are standing on the start line….

The Wicklow felt like it was just one big happy family running all together….

This was the best part! Now, the race was a very adventurous…..in every sense..

I must confess…i was expecting a bit more technical terrain…so it was weird to run on very smooth trails….i don’t know how it happened..but this year i’ve learnt to enjoy more rocky and technical terrain despite the fact my body is full of scars and bruises thanks to them…

Anyhow, the trail was not marked as expected…so i got lost plenty of times…which was not too bad i guess…since i was lucky enough to be ‘saved’ by a random runner or a race crew…but eventually i guess i lost in total about 1/2 an hour due to being off- trail…

The first miles were not very pleasant…i had pain..my hamstring, foot and back pain…but then after about 30km.. i was again in my ‘happy place’…when i enjoy flying downhill, and i’m just a nimble happy crazy runner who’s running with a huge smile…greeting everyone…like a kid who got his favorite chocolate!! Those moments are priceless…it’s when time just disappears…it’s when i picture in my mind all my favorites in this world and they are smiling to me telling me to keep going…i often picture my late dog running happily in front of me or people i've lost in my life smiling at me...it's like a mediation which i can't explain.

I missed the first check point , when i arrived to the second station at about 32 km , my pain was moderate so there were not thoughts about quitting…then, i started to slowly overtake runners…this was a good sign since at least i knew i was not slow…but this time, i asked each runner i met if he’s ok, to make sure no one injured badly…

I was a very happy runner till about 60km….and it was pure joy to be running a technical downhill on a descent speed….i was finally realizing i was better….and by the time i reached the third check point i was first woman…that was not too bad even though i didn’t come with a too competitive mindset…i only wanted to enjoy and finish the race healthy.

Then, i did a fatal mistake…i was hungry and there was no proper food at the station, so i ate junk food which left me with horrible stomach pain and i could barely run when i left the station…and it was dark and i was alone…i’m a bit angry at myself about this..i should have pushed harder but i was nauseous and had bladder issues…so i was overtaken and i was in a huge struggle…

I managed to push hard towards the end…i was always running and being scared to get lost but when i was up there after the last ascent and i saw Dublin lights below..it was pure magic…and i was again happy…i flew the last downhills and finished happily 3rd woman…..

I was so exhausted and tired….but i knew my performance was maybe not best but it was very good considering the fact i’m running with a weak hamstring and so much pain in my body…i was getting better which was great.

This great feeling of crossing the finish line…nothing gets better than this. I was so cold and tired i just had to sit down and drink a hot soup…Rosi, a nice photographer took my finish line photo and was helping me till Johannes came from the showers. He finished few minutes ahead of me even though i saw him several times across the trail. Rosi’s lovely terrier was keeping me warm and i was just grateful to finish. I will surely come back to Ireland…such an amazing atmosphere, people and mountains…

It was only few days later after i came back from Ireland that i realized that something is extremely wrong with my foot. The lower back pain and hamstring pain were familiar. But few days later while running back from my favorite gym class i had such an awful pain on my right foot i realized something must have gone wrong….maybe it was due to the race, maybe it was the jumping in the class…i couldn’t tell back then…but it was only then that i realized that my body was trying to tell me to stop and rest. That even though i didn’t feel like i was overtraining my body really needed a rest. I had severe difficulty in walking for about 2 weeks…i was basically limping or walking very slow. I also realized that running with a very weak right leg for so long has caused my body to unconsciously compensate through its left leg which probably caused my lower back pain in the leg side. I couldn't remember what was running pain free…i definitely needed a break. While most runners would be happy to get extra free time when taking a scheduled break from running , for me, it’s like a torture…moreover, it seemed that the pain on my foot was aggravated by jumping and not so much by running . I tried to minimize as much as i could aerobic exercises and tried to stick with strength workouts and spin classes.

Then, finally came Xmas and i went home for 2.5 weeks which was great but i also felt sad going back home with such painful foot….it felt unfair. I took rest for another week and then i gave up and started running . Luckily, i was mainly on the mountains so it didn’t feel bad since i could take rest and walk the uphills. The pain was there but it wasn’t that bad anymore and it allowed me to spend almost 2 weeks on the mountains with the best and my favorite runner in the whole world, my dog, Mika. When i came back to Finland, my foot still hurt and i was limping but i noticed a week later i was gradually getting better. Two weeks later, i went for two long back to back runs in Nuuksio, which were great but were so painful for both of my feet that i couldn’t take it anymore. I just realized that unless i rest i will never run pain free again. The impact of not running causes problems with my hamstring which becomes stiff, but during the last 3 weeks i’ve been exercising yoga 3 times a week and that helps me so much. I’m now 2 months after the initial pain on my right foot started and only few days back i realized i can walk normally….i actually forgot how it feels like. I was going to work in the morning and there were tears in my eyes when i had few moments of pain free walk….how about that!!

So now, i’m not really resting, i’m exercising in the gym every day , do a lot of yoga and i’m waiting for my body to tell me it’s ok to run again. I really hope i can run pain free soon enough. I deserve that i think. This spring, unlike last year i’m gonna be healthy and back on my feet running happily. At least i hope so….there’s nothing i want more…

I have a really demanding race schedule starting in May till the TDS in August and probably few will be added later. Obviously i need to train hard and prepare, but more than anything i want to run healthy…so that i could become stronger and a better runner than ever before, but most importantly, so that i could be a happy runner again…wild and free…