Two weeks before Lake Placid 70.3, my Garmin Vector 3 power meter arrived! I must have been excited about New Gear Day because I misread my Training Peaks Saturday workout plan and accidentally rode the entire 3-hour bike ride at half Ironman pace (average power of 178), rather than only 90 minutes of it. I was focused on trying to maintain an even power output throughout the ride, whilst not letting my husband – a very powerful cyclist – get too far ahead of me. Immediately following the ride, my friend joined me for a one-hour, 12 km transition run with the first mile at zone 3 (4:44/km) and the rest at zone 2 (5:00-5:18/km). The next morning, she kindly paced me for a 1h 55min run with the first 95 minutes at zone 2 and the last 20 minutes at zone 3. My left hamstring was mildly aching for the first 20 minutes of the run, then the discomfort seemed to disappear as I became increasingly warmed up – thank goodness for 30°C weather and high humidity.
The left hamstring ache was all too familiar – I strained it years ago as a provincial level volleyball player in high school and more recently, two years ago during triathlon season when I stopped strength training and increased my running volume too quickly. When the ache returned the following day during low-weight single leg deadlifts, I spoke to my coach, Cindy Lewis-Caballero. Trying to remain positive, I proactively suggested that I do longer warm-ups for cycling/running and foam roll/stretch more frequently after my workouts. Cindy, who in addition to being a coach is also a chiropractor in Burlington, ON, encouraged me to see a physio, chiro or RMT as soon as I could to ensure it wouldn’t hinder my performance at Lake Placid. Luckily, I had preemptively booked a couple of chiro and massage therapy appointments in Elliot Lake within the following week. After a couple of chiro appointments that included dry needling and PNF stretching (gently resisted hold-relax stretches) and some deep tissue release from a skilled RMT, my hamstring eventually relaxed and felt somewhat normal.
In terms of training, Cindy gave me 3 days off running and avoided giving me any speed/interval run work over the next week. During a 16 km run primarily on hilly, gravel roads 8 days before the race, I felt some slight discomfort in the left hamstring and decided to hold an easy pace, rather than risk hurting myself by pushing it. During taper week, I only ran once for 35 minutes, which made me a bit anxious but I reminded myself that training intensely at this point would only hurt my performance, not help it.
As you can read in my Lake Placid 70.3 Race Report, I recovered from my hamstring issue just in time and I managed to finish feeling strong and pain-free!
Lessons learned:
1. Carefully read & follow your training plan – coach knows best!
2. Seek professional advice immediately when your body feels off, no matter how minor it might seem
3. Prioritize supplementary strength/resistance training to correct muscle imbalances & prevent future injuries
4. Practice a regular foam rolling/stretching routine
5. Stay positive in the face of adversity!
