Guest Post: A voyage of discovery ...by Pat Walsh

* A voyage of discovery *

Many thanks for all the kind comments recently. Much appreciated.

I was chatting to a medical professional and they said that what I have gone through could be a learning experience for many others that may be worth sharing. People like to know they are not alone. Feel free to click away from the page now now. 

Before I start I want to say I‘m ok and hopefully will be back in action soon.

I have a stress fracture in my pelvis. I was in trouble after the Waterford Half last November and when it didn’t get better I was sent for an MRI.

Point 1, if in doubt get it checked out. I thought it wasn’t much and would be grand in a few days.

I have seen a few professionals during this time and as no-one can pinpoint exactly what went wrong, then a whole battery of tests were required. I have been scanned, poked, spine manipulated, bloods given and all forms of bodily tests taken.

Upshot of all this I still don’t know for sure, but I do know my bone density, my blood figures, and I have my spine and pelvis captured on screen. 

The amount of medical information you can get nowadays is amazing. We need to use it more. These are vital for long term health. There may be issues due to genetic factors that you are not aware of unless you check. 

When I was younger I thought I was invincible but as I got older I never stopped to look at myself and see was running into old age a viable option. It still is, but more cognizance must be taken of other factors which could affect it. This has been a learning process for me. I have discovered prevention may be better than cure.

I know I can survive mentally without running which I didn’t think was possible. What I didn’t fully realize is that without running as a form of exercise then other issues arise because of immobility. 

If you don’t use the body it stiffens up and problems can arise in other areas. 

I want to stay running but I now know I must respect other factors.

Recovering enough between sessions

Tracking my weekly mileage in case it is too high.

Not racing too much. Keep working on flexibility.

Eating properly and ensuring proper nutrients for bodily health.

Continue to do periodic medical tests to check that all is good. Waiting until there is a major issue like I had is too late.

I hope you if you can take some learning points from this. It affects your general health as well as your ability to run. Again this was written for myself and my own diary to look back on. My voyage through life. It hasn’t been an easy few months on the body and the mind with lack of exercise and social contacts. 

I leave on a lighter note. The NCT on my car is due today. I’m confident that my 191C will pass the test. Thankfully they only test the car and not the driver…

#pwr