A Setback is a Step Forward
Great news- the Forgotten Florida race photos are in, and there’s a couple of me that are seriously terrible. This one might be the most ridiculous photo I’ve ever had taken: First of all, it kind of looks like they told me to pose as if I were running. Something about it just doesn’t look natural. More importantly, what in the world is going on with my FACE??? What was I doing? Yelling? Smiling? Crying? Having some kind of a fit? This was before I sprained my ankle, so I don’t have that as an excuse. Well- one thing is for sure- you can see I wasn’t lying when I said it was a wet day. Moving right along. Earlier this week at the gym, I was listening to this episode of Trail to 100 Podcast, “A Setback is a Step Forward.” Yes, perfect. The hosts talked about how to deal with setbacks, and gave some great nuggets of advice, such as “honor where you are right now.” If your setback is an injury, don’t try to pretend you’re any better or worse than you are, just accept the situation exactly as it is. Another piece of advice was “get help.” Let’s examine that one more closely. I’m still looking back on my race and analyzing what went wrong. One thing that stands out to me, in retrospect, is that I passed through TWO aid stations- at the first one I was merely cold, but at the second one I had just twisted my ankle, and was shivering. WHY didn’t I ask for help? That’s what the aid station volunteers are there for. I could have told them I needed to warm up. Who knows- maybe someone had an extra pair of gloves, or a rain poncho, or even a trash bag that I could have made into a rain poncho. And why didn’t I at least take a break to assess the ankle situation? I’m not sure there was anything to be done at that moment, but again, you never know. Maybe someone had tape? But for some reason I was in such a hurry to get through the aid station, I didn’t tell anyone I was struggling. Which brings me to the next point. WHY was I in such a hurry? People always warn you not to waste time at aid stations, but I’m pretty sure that’s if everything is going well. If you’re having a serious problem, you should definitely stop and try to fix it. And here’s the thing- when I left that aid station, I walked almost the entire distance to the next one- seven or eight miles- and I was still ahead of the cutoff. Theoretically- had I actually been able to run at all at that point- I could have continued on to finish the race. I could have stopped for help at both aid stations and still had plenty of time. My first lesson from this race was: be prepared for the weather. My other big takeaways are: slow down, and ask for help if you need it. After I listened to the “setback” podcast, I called my sports chiropractor and made an appointment for next week, to see if he can do anything to speed the healing along. I know my ankle will heal regardless, but I have that April 27th race on my radar. I still believe it’s possible, but I have to do everything I can to make it happen. Including… getting some help. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned lately? Favorite podcast right now? – Every episode of Trail to 100 has been a home run for me this month. Header photo by Mette Køstner on Unsplash