Martin Parnell

Chapter 8

Hockey Injury (Part 1 of 2)

“You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.”
- GEORGE BURNS, Comedian and Actor

Martin

The trip to Cuba had been amazing. However, I knew there were issues with my ankle. My first stop was Dr. Hanlon. How much damage had I caused with the hockey accident?

Bill told me that I had “over-extended ligaments” and that I had to stop any impact type exercises, I wasn’t looking forward to my meeting with Malc. On the Wednesday morning I went around to his place with a tale of woe. He listened to what I said and didn’t miss a beat. He told me that I had to use the “4 Pillars of Recovery” regime, i.e., ice/diclofenac/elliptical/swimming. The key was to maintain the other exercises and keep up the heart rate.

The plan was that if I was unable to run then I should make use of the gym and do other activities as an opportunity to improve my strength and other aspects of training. I have to admit that Malc’s plan made me think of what I do in my business: Finish the Race Attitude – set goals, overcome obstacles and achieve outstanding results. Fingers crossed.

Malc had given me fair warning that there is a standard 4–6 week recovery time for this type of injury. Leaving his place, I was frustrated by how stupid I had been. For the sake of two minutes on the ice I had jeopardized my training, at least for the 5K in April.

For the next three weeks it was the elliptical, swimming and stretching. I was never much for stretching, but Malc said that was critical for the process. He explained that the key was not only stretching but stabilization. He used the metaphor of a car body. If the bolts were loose then the body would shake and rattle around but if the bolts were tight then it would run much better. If I could improve my stabilization around my hips then I would have improved running efficiency. I focused on what I could control, but after a month I was getting a bit fed up. My ankle didn’t seem to be improving and I questioned Malc as to the direction we were going. We talked about injuries that take a longer or shorter recovery time.

At a session in mid-February Malc said it was time to introduce some running into the schedule. He wanted me to use the elliptical for 20 minutes and then run on the treadmill for 20 minutes. These became my “Elliptimill” sessions.

Three weeks stretched to six weeks and I felt that I was going nowhere. My “4 Pillars” of recovery were crumbling, and if things continued the way they were going I would have to change the title of my quest from “62 beats 47” to “63 beats 47.” Malc listened to my whining and said that he felt I had hit a plateau in my recovery. What was needed was a complete gait analysis of my foot/ankle, as he felt I was favouring one side due to my injury.

At the weekly training session in late February Malc put sensors on the front and back of my shoes, knees, hip and back. This was in order to measure my right/left sides independently and see what force I was using to put into and get off the ground / impact shock / acceleration on each side, and other background parameters, such as cadence. The objective was to see if I was using both sides equally. I had noticed some internal pain on my right side and wondered if it would be spotted in the data.

Malc set the test up and noted that the results would be compared to data from the times I was not injured. Malc found that, in terms of numbers, the outputs from the right and left sides were quite similar to those recorded in the past. The biggest discrepancy lay in the times of ground contact between right and left foot. Apparently, this is quite common in this type of injury. The side that is injured doesn’t want to get off the ground as quickly. So my right (injured) side currently stays on the ground for a significantly longer time than shown in previous analysis.

However, the data showed that I had not sustained a serious injury and could continue to comfortably run for 20 minutes. This was good news but I was getting impatient and felt I was in a kind of limbo. Malc suggested he increase the running time to 30 minutes in order to stimulate faster recovery.

At the end of each weekly training session Malc and I would hold a “Facebook live” session. We would talk about how the last week went and what was coming up for the next week. We would also get questions from viewers. In late February a viewer sent a question about performance enhancing drugs (PEDs)at the Winter Olympics. Malc shared his thoughts about PEDs in elite sports and spoke to his own experience as both an athlete and a coach of elite athletes. He expanded on the role of the athlete, the coach and the agent. He commented on how different countries decide on list of banned drugs and implementation of the bans.

In a session at the beginning of March, Malc used the most recent version of RunScribe, which is a data collection device. I shared with Malc that I felt very fortunate to have access to this data but recognized that, for some runners, this wouldn’t be viable. I wondered why tech companies hadn’t come up with devices that could be available to runners, so that they could self-coach.

Malc explained that some companies have, in fact, tried this, but generally they have failed because runners simply want to go out and run; they don’t want to have to collect streams of data and interpret it themselves. If you tell runners “change this or change that” on the fly, it’s not what runners want. Most of them want to run and then get advice from an expert, if they think they need it.

I had to confess to Malc that during the previous week I had tried the “kill or cure” approach to my ankle injury and did a one-hour run, starting at a 6-minute pace then raising it to 5:30 and then 5 minutes. It felt good at the time, but I had suffered the consequences, as my ankle has been sore since. In hindsight, I felt I shouldn’t have done it and Malc agreed.

At the end of the training session, during the “Facebook live” segment,” I shared with Malc on what a challenge it must be for professional athletes and their medical teams to get them fit again as soon as possible, especially as their livelihoods depend on it. We discussed reaching a point in your path to recovery when you need to recognize that things aren’t improving, that you’ve reached a plateau and you may need to reach out to a professional in the medical field. Malc talked about it being connected to how serious you are about your goals.

I was definitely struggling with my running, but one thing I was looking forward to was The Secret Marathon 3K. It was scheduled to take place on March 7, and the seed for the event had been planted on November 4, 2016. That was the day that the second Marathon of Afghanistan took place, and filmmaker Kate McKenzie and I participated. Returning from Afghanistan, Kate signed up for the Ottawa Half Marathon on May 27, 2017.

While exploring the race expo she met John Stanton, founder of the Running Room. John spotted the “Marathon of Afghanistan” shirt she was wearing and asked her about it. Kate explained that the race had been in support of Afghan women and girls running for freedom and equality. John told Kate that he would love to start an event that supported gender equality, and The Secret Marathon 3K was born. That year ten Running Room locations were established, and because it could be run anywhere in the world, three countries, Canada, the UK and the US, were involved. On the night of March 7, Sue and I plus our friends Wayne and Cathy walked the 3 km along the pathways in Calgary. On the other side of Canada granddaughter Autumn was the race director for the 3K in Sudbury, Ontario. In total there were over 1,000 participants in Canada and around the world.

On March 9, I got a call from Dominique at Fireweed Creative Films. She wanted to know if I would be interested in being in a documentary called The Ageless Athlete. I said yes. She was going to write up a proposal for Telus Hive and we would see where it went from there.

The following week I shared The Secret Marathon 3K experience with Malc and we chatted about the different reasons people run. It might be to change your lifestyle, get in shape, for a specific race, for charity etc. For me the reason has changed over the years. Initially it was a challenge from my brother. I was 47 years old and I had no interest in running, but when you get challenged by a younger brother then it’s hard to say no. As I started training for the marathon I found it helped me with mental and physical health.

I was grieving from the death of my wife and just getting outside and exerting myself allowed me to push out the negative emotions. After completing the challenge I wanted to see what I could do, on a personal level, in the world of running. I set a goal of qualifying for Boston, competing in an Ironman and running a 100-mile race. Achieving these goals gave me huge personal satisfaction and I loved the adventure that running brought to my life.

However, my running took on a different direction in the spring of 2009. A friend introduced me to Right To Play and I knew I wanted to use my running to give back to others. I did this over a period of five years, running multiple marathons, traversing a 1000-km section of the coast of England and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in 21 hours.

Life took another turn when I was diagnosed with a clot on the brain. During my recovery my wife Sue told me about Zainab, the first Afghan woman to run a marathon. I knew I wanted to support these women and girls in their fight for freedom and equality and I could only think of one way to help them: running the marathon with them. My journey to Afghanistan led me to meet Kubra and, by running with her, allow her to achieve her goals of completing a marathon.

Which brings us to “62 beats 47.” Over the years I had run for myself, run for others and run with others to allow them to achieve their goals. For me, as a “seasoned” runner the goals are twofold, to run for health and to see what is left in the tank. I believe that the ageless athlete is someone who competes against themselves, who sets goals and gives them their best shot. I have learned so much through running and I intend to keep learning.

In running there are highs and lows. The Secret Marathon 3K was a high, but what happened the following week was a low. Maybe I expected too much. I extended the running portion of the “Elliptimill” from 30 to 40 minutes, or at least I tried. My ankle was aching and I quit before the end of the session. I felt like I was wasting my time and everyone else’s time. That day I decided to take a complete break from running for a week.

I was totally despondent, when, at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning I drove over to Malc’s place and headed down to the basement. I explained to Malc what had happened and he gave me a good talking- to. He explained that I was getting into “head games” and how usually I’m okay but obviously have become overwhelmed with the lack of progress with the injury. He explained how some injuries require “active recovery” and that some injuries need a lot of rest and others need controlled stimulus, cross- training etc.

We finished the session with the “Facebook live” segment. Malc noted that with less than a month to my first 5-km race there was no need to panic. We still had Mother’s Day and Calgary 5K if needed. He also pointed out that I would be able to do multiple 10Ks as there’s less buildup and recovery required and they allow for adjustments along the way. It was all just part of the process.