How I Found Pilates

In November 2021, I ran the Golden Gate Half Marathon. I was very proud and ecstatic after completing my very first half marathon race. Of course I was expecting a bit of soreness the next day, but what I encountered was completely unexpected and new to me. I woke up and immediately felt a problem with my left foot/ankle; this was a sensation I’ve never felt before. I could barely walk or put any pressure on my left foot, and when I did, it would be excruciating painful. Not to mention, my ankle was swollen to the size of a tennis ball! Sometimes I can get up, move around a bit, and the pain would subside; this was not the case on that day. Over the next couple of weeks, I tried to manage the pain and figure out what was going on. I discovered the cause was from a major episode of Achilles tendinitis. Utterly debilitating to say the least.

 

After I figured out what was going on with my injury, I was determined to get back to being outdoors and running. Setting goals for myself is a good way for me to train and continue to be active on a day-to-day basis. In December 2021, a little less than a month after my injury, I signed up for not one, but two races in the month of July 2022! At the point of signing up for these races, I was still recovering from my Achilles tendinitis and walking was still painful. I knew I had an uphill battle to climb, but I was determined to overcome this injury and complete the Ragnar Trail Relay Race and the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon in July 2022.

 

In January of 2022, 6 months out from my races, I was still unable to do anything remotely close to running. At this time, I needed to get moving again and reached out to Rise Physical Therapy and Pilates. At Rise, Nikki helped me begin my rehabilitation process and thus began my journey to running again. At physical therapy, Nikki introduced me to the Pilates reformer, something that I’ve never seen or used. The exercises we performed on the reformer were the perfect balance of strengthening my ankle while continuing to allow it heal. Over the next 2 months, thanks to Nikki and her team at Rise, I was able to slowly regain my stability and strength in my left ankle. The pain from my Achilles tendinitis, as well as the swelling, had finally began to subside.

 

At the start of March 2022, I only had about 4 months left until race day. At this point, the swelling in my left ankle was gone and the pain had pretty much disappeared. After 2 months of physical therapy and using the reformer with Nikki. I was ready to start training again. This time around, I wanted to include Pilates into my training program. I felt that with Pilates, I had a stronger foundation for movement. I enjoyed the focus on how I was moving, instead of constantly thinking about sets, repetitions, my time on conditioning workouts, and how much weight I was using. Safe to say I had a better mindset going into training.

 

I found Pilates Forever in April 2022, where I continued my Pilates practice. At this time, I was combining Pilates once a week with some weightlifting to help regain the strength in my legs. With my injury being related to the Achilles, I was still nervous about running or doing anything dynamic. At Pilates Forever, Alina had me working hard for my first month. This demanded an entirely different level of body control, and exposed weakness in not only my physical movement patterns but in my ability to control my movement mechanics under fatigue. Slow and controlled movements were the name of the game. As the fatigue would set it, this was my opportunity to focus on my body alignment instead of just powering through to finish the exercise so that the burning sensation would stop. I started to feel stronger not only physically, but I felt that my mental strength to control my body under fatigue was stronger than it had ever been. I thought this would be perfect for running; after discovering my injury most likely came from poor movement mechanics under fatigue, which probably resulted in muscle imbalances, then to my Achilles injury. As an added bonus, when I would go into the gym to do my typical weightlifting and strengthening workouts, I felt as if I had a better understanding of how I was moving while performing these exercises. Like I mentioned earlier, as my muscles began to fatigue while working out, I used it as an opportunity to strengthen my ability to focus on my movement mechanics instead of just powering through to finish.

 

It wasn’t until May 2022 that I started incorporating running into my training program, and I was 2 months out from my first race in July. At this point, thanks to Rise and Pilates Forever, I was confident in getting back to building my endurance capacity. I felt I had a stronger base than before, and not only physically, but mentally as well. Knowing that 2 months was not that much time, I had to be smart with how I approached the next couple of months.

 

As I began incorporating running into my training program, I focused more on managing my fatigue throughout my runs. I made sure I always balanced the amount of fatigue and intensity I was feeling with my ability to focus on how I was running. If I couldn’t focus on my movement mechanics, then I would simply slow down to a pace that would allow me to do so. Previously, I would just complete certain distances for time and then try to improve upon that time on my next run. This time around, I never focused on how fast I was running. I focused more on how I was feeling and finding a pace on longer runs where I could continue to be able to focus on how I was moving throughout the entirety of the session. Most importantly, I learned how to adapt while running. I not only carried this lesson with me throughout my endurance training, but I carried it with me through my strength and conditioning workouts I did in the gym as well. The ability to adapt really made movement universal for me, whether it was CrossFit, Pilates, running, weightlifting, or powerlifting. It didn’t matter what type of exercise I was doing; being able to adjust on the fly was key for me and my ability to control the way I move through fatigue.

 

July 2023 came, and I was at my first race. The Ragnar Trail Relay Race was up, and a little over 1 week, I would run the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon. The Ragnar Race took place in Tahoe, and it was a 2-day relay race. Each relay team had about 8 members, and we each had 3 courses to run with lengths varying from 3 to 9 miles. It was an ongoing race, where we started Friday morning and finished Saturday afternoon. The Ragnar Race was a chance for me to really challenge my strategy of just finding a running pace where I could focus on how I was running instead of how fast I was running. Needless to say, this race would test my ability to adapt. Over the next day or so, all I thought about was adapting while running. I ran when I could, walked when I couldn’t run, slowed down when I felt I couldn’t focus on my movement mechanics, and sped up when I felt good! And that’s the only I approach I took and kept. Ragnar Race, done. Now for how I would feel the next day after the race. I felt good! Besides the expected and normal soreness, no Achilles pain. A win in my book, and one race down. The Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon was up next, and it was the following weekend.

 

After a very good recovery week, and still no Achilles pain, it was time for my half marathon. Following the Ragnar Race, I was fully confident in my ability to adapt while running. I took the same approach. I didn’t focus on my time and just focused on what pace I needed to be at to maintain my ability to concentrate on how I was running. Again, I slowed down when I needed to and picked up the pace when I was feeling good. 13.1 miles later, I crossed the finish line. To my surprise, I had finished over 10 minutes faster than my half marathon back in November 2022! As a cherry on top, I was back in the gym the next day with almost little to no soreness, but more importantly, no Achilles pain! I was more ecstatic the next day than I was after finishing my first half marathon. Mission accomplished!

 

To this day, I continue to incorporate Pilates at least once a week along with my normal strength and conditioning workouts. The experience has really changed my idea of overall health and fitness. Pilates helped me rebuild my foundation for movement, and I enjoy challenging my ability to maintain that foundation using other types of exercise. Whether it be weightlifting, running, Pilates, CrossFit, or whatever form of exercise; they all still involve movement and your ability to adapt to maintain a certain level of quality. In the end, leading to a balanced life of health and fitness.

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