Puppies, potholes, physiotherapy... Oh My!

Greetings! I hope you’re all well, and enjoying what seems to be late Spring/Early Summer like weather finally, at least in Ottawa!
 
The past number of weeks has been pretty eventful, they’ve included my initiation into riding in the Gatineau Hills – which I loved, craziness at the office, a new puppy at home, a minor running injury, and some changes in my race calendar as a result of said injury, and a ginormous hole in the road in Gatineau Park. Go figure, the year I’m ready to do the Meech Lake Triathlon, it gets cancelled.
 
The Sunday before the Victoria Day, I went out for my long ride, heading out along the Rockcliffe Parkway, into downtown and hanging a right at the War Museum – where I met up with my riding buddy, to make our way to the Park. It being the first time for me, we headed up Promenade de la Gatineau until we hit Meech Lake Road, turned around and headed back into Ottawa. We retraced our path across the Rockcliffe Parkway to Montreal Road and headed home from there. Great ride, the first dry afternoon in almost two weeks, and we made the most of it.
 
Following the ride, I threw on my running shoes and headed out the door for a transition run (T-run). All was well until about halfway home, when I started feeling a twinge in my lower leg, at the top left of my calf muscle. Uh oh, I thought, and stopped to give it a stretch, which seemed to help, so I carried on, fairly gingerly, spending some time running on the grass beside the sidewalk. By about 4.3k in the pain had increased, so I stopped again and gently stretched the area, but that time it didn’t actually help, and low and behold, I was ultimately walking home. Gentle stretch, elevate, rest, ice upon arrival.
 
I had felt something on the Saturday, during my long run, but it hadn’t discomforted me enough to worry, but I guess it was actually the start of something, as evidenced by how things went on Sunday.
 
I made the earliest appointment I could with my Doctor on the Monday, and by Wednesday morning was in Physiotherapy.
 
Verdict? Not a pulled muscle, but an issue in the alignment of my hips, and tightness in my illiotibial bands (both sides, you could use them to play a tune), which was causing inflammation of my peroneal nerve, which also affected the fibular tip and the area where the nerve wraps in front of the knee. I think I have all that right…. Anyhow, it explained why I was feeling discomfort. I’m not an expert in these things, so please take my explanation with a grain of salt, this is my understanding of the situation.
 
Solution? No running for the time being, swimming, water running and biking allowed, but no hills – she actually said “So, no riding the Gats”, my heart sunk – I had only just gotten a taste of how much fun those hills were.
 
Progress? I’ve had a few more visits and I’m happy to report that it’s progressing well, and I’m on track to making a gradual return to running – no National Capital Half Marathon this weekend, but hopefully back to running next week – and will be good to go for the Big Show on July 24.
In the meantime, I’m working hard at putting my best into the things that I can do, which means bonding with my bike, spending lots of time in the pool and working on upper body and core strength and my flexibility. The running will come, I’ve laid a foundation there, and hopefully when I can get back to it, gradually of course, I will still be able to draw from it.
 
I’ll be out on the streets of Ottawa this weekend, cheering on the runners, including my Mom who is doing her first 5k race. We are so lucky to be able to participate in these events, and I hope to be out there again this time next year.