Six weeks into my rebuild

A Major Milestone in My Recovery Journey

I am beyond thrilled to say that I am making steady progress towards my goal. The photo above was taken on August 2nd last year, during one of my weekly runs with two amazing running buddies, Francesco and Savannah. We ran around the river as we often did, and even though I don’t miss the early alarms, I miss the chatty runs with great company.

After this particular run, my injury was officially diagnosed through an MRI scan. The pain had been plaguing me for six long months, but with the diagnosis in hand, I stopped running until the end of January. A third MRI scan revealed that the injury was finally healing, and my sports medicine doctor, Dr Harris, allowed me to start a walk/jog program, which I have been following for the last six weeks.

Yesterday, I ran nonstop for 11km around the Swan River in Perth, with an additional kilometer to return to meet my husband. It was one hour of easy running with no walk breaks, and it felt fantastic! Running outside is amazing now that the heat has eased up a bit with autumn’s arrival.

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My Rebuilding Process

• Recover: Resting and allowing my injury to heal.
• Rebuild: Slowly regaining my fitness and strength.
• Return: Rejoining group runs and regular training sessions. The best part!

Dr. Harris prescribed a strict walk/jog program for me, beginning with 5 minutes of walking and 1 minute of easy running for 45 minutes three times a week. The running component could be increased by 1 minute each week. On the other days, I could skip, increase by 5 minutes per week, or use the elliptical machine so long as it did not cause pain. This was my schedule:

Monday	AM: Skipping (+5 mins each week) PM: Gym strength & conditioning
Tuesday	Walk/jog (+1 min jog each week)
Wednesday	Gym strength & conditioning
Thursday	Walk/jog
Friday	Gym strength & conditioning
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	Walk/jog

I am most grateful to say that I have only experienced mild discomfort while running so far, and that’s all due to the slow and steady rebuild and the specialised compression shorts I wear while running. They provide stability in my pelvic, core, hip, and groin areas to reduce pain and inflammation, promote recovery, and prevent further injury. You can learn more about these shorts here.

Furthermore, I also received a referral to see a sports dietitian. Osteitis pubis is known to develop from overuse in athletes such as football or soccer players and endurance runners (other causes include pregnancy or recent abdominal surgery). The risk of bone stress injuries is also increased in women with menstrual disturbances or who experience RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sports). This means inadequate nutrition and fuel intake to sustain training load and performance. The accredited sports dietitian I see provides me with expert advice and a nutrition plan designed around my goals, dietary, and fuel requirements to sustain my training. As someone who is passionate about nutrition and eating well, I can honestly say that having professional guidance has made a world of difference.

More updates on my Nutrition & Recipes page, so stay tuned for that!

What’s Next?

I have a review with my sports doctor next Monday, and I am confident that it will go very well. I am looking forward to increasing my mileage, adding some quality sessions such as intervals and tempo runs. As I gradually improve my volume and distance during long runs, I look forward to building towards the Berlin Marathon, with my  training block to start in approximately 22 weeks from now. I can’t wait to share more posts once the build begins!

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