A Mini Milestone

Last weekend I made the much anticipated trip to San Diego to meet and work with the super duo brothers Bryan and Sean Hill at Rehab United. I have to admit, at first I was apprehensive. It's not the most practical thing in the world to travel to California for physical therapy. But at the suggestion of my coach Lesley Paterson, and out of complete desperation, I pursued it. And it was worth every penny and then some!

In my pursuit, I started talking and emailing with Bryan, and sending info back and forth to get a history. He sent me videos to get started, and told me that his brother Sean would be in the Salt Lake area that weekend. Possibly we could hook up. I was thrilled when Sean said he'd be willing to see me here on his vacation, and I jumped at the chance! He and his wife Erynne (who is the Director of Massage at Rehab United) came to meet me at my house. Yes that's right...A HOUSE VISIT!!! How cool are they? After spending almost two hours with them, and watching them dissect every detail in just the way I walk, I knew I had to find a way to get out there and learn more.

You see, the knee is rarely the problem, but the victim. For months now, as I've been trying to get back to training after my two procedures to repair the tear in my patellar tendon, and suffering through constant back pain, I've wondered if I'd ever be pain free again. And I've also feared that if I don't get to the root of the problem, I would just re-injure it. It wasn't until I met with Sean and Erynne that I had my very first bit of hope in a long time. Their philosophy made perfect sense to me, and they were confident they could help me get back to doing what I love!

This felt sooooo good!

A bit of planning, juggling schedules around, and with my husband's blessing (poor guy, I think he is as desperate as I am to have me back to my pain free happy racing self), I booked my flight. Arranged my home stay with a great friend of mine and a wonderful athlete in her own right, Marison Beniek. Then told the boys at Rehab United to plan my two day crash course however they needed so that I could leave there with enough knowledge to do the work on my own back in Salt Lake City.

Upon my arrival Thursday morning I was to be at Rehab United immediately. A little delay at the rental car center pushed things back a bit, but no biggie! Once at RU, I got to meet Bryan and the crew that was to take care of me for the next couple days. A nice chat, another good evaluation, and some soft tissue work. Ahhhh!

Feels totally awkward now, but I'm getting better!

I spent two hours there the first session, soaking in as much as I could. The staff at RU are awesome! They made me feel like I had been a client for years, and were so knowledgeable and friendly. I finished up with my first session, and went straight to the pool for a swim. I needed to shake out the travel and loosen things up.

The next day was an early swim, rehab session number one followed by a lunchtime bike ride with Bryan, then an afternoon session as well. Full day, but such an awesome day! The point of my post is not to outline every detail of my therapy, but rather just to express what an awesome, productive and worthwhile trip it was! I accomplished everything I wanted to, and more. I left RU with a clear vision of what I need to do. Thank you so much to EVERYONE at RU that helped me!!!

While the job is not done, I feel like I have reached a mini milestone...I have been completely pain free for FIVE days!!! I have a renewed energy, my fire is back and I've found my mojo again. I'm not running yet, but I'm cautiously optimistic that it's coming soon! I'm so excited about it, I've worn my super cute Rehab United socks for two days now :).

They even match my bike!

The other highlight of my trip was a 40 mile bike ride with Marison Saturday morning. She is such a joy to be around, and was kind enough to let me use her road bike for the weekend and tag along with her on a training ride. She took me to some of her favorite spots near her home in beautiful Poway, CA. We had a blast together as she took me to her favorite hill repeats and showed me some of the most beautiful fall scenes SoCal has to offer. I loved every minute of it. Thanks Marison for the great accommodations and time spent together!

Out for a ride with Marison!

Injury is part of an athlete's journey, and it is terribly difficult. If anyone reading this is feeling discouraged, hang in there. I know how hard it is, but it's worth the fight back to full health. Never ever give up, I'm not!!!

I can't finish up without giving one more shout out to my amazing sponsors, who have stuck with me through this ordeal. I couldn't do all this without your continued support... Dr. Greg Freebairn, who has been there for my every need in the pain dept, you rock! Canyon Bicycles, GU Energy, Wasatch Running, Gnarly Nutrition, Saucony and ISM Saddles. Thank you!