Bittersweet - The finish will never be sweet, without the bitter.

Part One - Avoiding the Knife

It was the summer of 2005 when my best friends from Edmonton had finally convinced me after years of nagging to enter my first triathlon, a Sprint. I was athletic as a child, actively involved in running sports, soccer, cross country and track and field. Biking and swimming however were unfamiliar territories and there were 3 small issues……One, I had no bike. Two, I didn’t know how to swim, and three, the event was only four months away. What was meant to be a short and painless introduction to triathlons, ended up being a 9 month road to recovery.

Prior to 2005 I had taken a couple of years off from sports to focus on my studies and career, needless to say I was very out of shape. Enthusiastic about my new goal however, I purchased all the necessary gear and began training at 150% right away. I would cram the three disciplines into a single day, 6 days a week on top of weight training. My body quickly began to show the tell tale signs of wearing down. With the fatigue, cramping, and tight muscles setting in, I was clearly over training, but the event was only two months away, and in my mind I just needed to push through (Rookie mistake #1 – seek professional help!). My breaking point came with an Ab roller during weight training. I’d never used one before and thought it would be a great way to work on my mid section. It wasn’t long before I felt the disks in my lower back bulging while in full extension.

With the pain increasing steadily over the next couple weeks, I figured all I needed was a massage so I had my cousin who was in his first year of massage therapy give me a deep tissue massage (Rookie mistake #2 – seek professional help). The massage only made things worse and extended the now excruciating pain through my sciatica down to my toes. The pain finally led me to a sports doctor which he quickly diagnosed as a herniated L4, L5 disc. Months following the MRI, surgery was suggested as the next alternative. Surgery was not an option for me. I’ve always disliked hospitals from previous sport injuries, but the deciding factor came from a friend of mine who was training with the Bobsled team years previous. He too had suffered from a herniated disc and chose surgery. He is convinced he is worse off than before and wished he never had the surgery, so I took the only alternate route available, professional help, without the knife.

I began an aggressive regiment of Physiotherapy, Acupuncture, Message Therapy, and Chiropractic Care shortly after deciding that being cut open was not for me. I would visit with one of the doctors every other day, and spend a minimum of 2-3 hours a day stretching with resistant bands and working on my core stability with an exercise ball and balance board. After months of therapy, my sciatica was beginning to show signs of relief and I was once again able to sit in the same position for more than 20 minutes and bend forward enough to touch my knees. What felt like years, in reality, 9 months later I was finally able to touch my toes and slip on a pair of socks…..by myself, I was thankful and blessed to be in good health once again.

Re-assessing my goals, and taking baby steps, I was able to refocus on what came naturally to me, running. Within a year of my active recovery, I had completed 4 half marathons, and my first marathon. Despite having food poisoning the day before the race, I completed the 2006 Honolulu Marathon in 4:35:40. Having never lost sight of my ultimate goal of participating in a triathlon, I once again felt confident and signed up for the 2008 Sylvan Lake Half Ironman. One major issue remained, I didn’t know how to swim, but I was sure they would let me wear water wings, wouldn’t they?