Trying a new sport and having rapid success at it, like I did with high jumping, can be exhilarating. But, as I've found out, one of the dangers of such success is overtraining. You get excited, push harder, put in more hours and don't listen to your body when it says to stop. This can especially apply to masters athletes who are giddy with excitement about getting a second chance at competition. This is what happened to me, and why I've spent the last year on a journey to find solutions to repair my peroneal tendon, and cure constant tendonitis in that area. I have pain about 80% of my day. I’ve seen numerous doctors, surgeons, PTs, nutritionists, reflexologists, massage therapists and chiropractors over the past 18 months. I’ve had three MRIs, physical therapy and worn a boot. I've stayed off it, stayed on it, iced it, heated it, CBDed it, x-rayed it — I can’t seem to solve it. But, I hear, I’m not alone in this. Whether you were a successful competitive athlete when you were younger, or you always wanted to be one and now you can’t believe you are getting a moment you only dreamed of, the masters athlete's joy of the second chance can interfere with some healthy good common sense. Training at a high level while in pain, like I did -- is not recommended. I know that now! Once you get to an elite level of fitness, the thought of stopping your level of training can be scary. Your emotions and definition of yourself are bound up in your fitness level. I was told to shut it down early in 2018 by the first doctor I saw about this, but I didn’t until late in the year. I can still hear myself explaining to him that I had meets to compete in, a world ranking to maintain, records to break, medals to win. I continued to train hard on it and competed in all the meets I wanted to make that year. My body was warning me, but I didn't listen and reduce my training and competition schedule. I ended up doing irreparable damage. I think that many elite athletes start feeling invincible. I know I did. If your fitness level is above those around you, you may start feeling like nothing can stop you and you are indestructible. Overconfidence is awesome in competition, but can be detrimental to keeping you healthy. Training through pain, I have now learned, isn't a good idea. The, "I just need to warm it up"-philosophy isn't a plan. Recovery time is critical for a masters athlete. With hindsight, I have learned that sometimes less, really is more. I was my most successful when I wasn't logging miles on the track and road. When I wasn't training five days a week. I was most successful when I did less. Back to tendonitis. After all this time and all the medical professionals scratching their heads at me, I may have found a combination that’s working. An extremely talented chiropractor, Dr. Sarah Wilkie (in whose office, I have cried, twice!) is helping me with alignment which can really get out of whack when you are limping in pain, and a wonderful acupuncturist, Nobu Wago is trying to wake up the healing mechanism in my lower limb. I am getting some relief. It’s a super slow process, and I still have pockets of the day in pain, but there’s a path ahead, and I’m hoping it continues to improve. Patience is key, and not something I’m all that good at. But, maybe that's why I could run so fast and jump so high in my 50's. Meanwhile, my injury has taught me to be thankful. Having less in one area, can show you that you have more in others. I'm more thankful for the strong body I was born with, thankful for the extra time to focus on my family these 12 months, thankful for the travel I've been able to do, and thankful for a summer off from sun damage — ‘cause I’m not out under the sun each day training in the boiling heat! I'm also thankful for my six masters high jump national champion titles and four years ranked in the top 10 in the world. That is an amazing accomplishment that I didn't appreciate when I had it. But, it's not over. I'll be back. I'll just be training smarter the next go around. If I can help someone else listen to their body and lay off while a muscle or tendon heals so they aren’t out as long as I’ve been, I will feel like this blog post has done its job. Take it easy! The track, or whatever your sport of choice is, will always be there! Less, can be more! Thanks for following my journey!
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AuthorJulia Curran-Villarreal is a three-time USA W55 national masters high jump champion. After a 35-year break from her favorite high school sport of track & field, Julia returned to competition in 2013 at the age of 53. Follow her journey on @juliajumping on Instagram and @juliacurran on Twitter. Archives
August 2019
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