Serendipity.

In 2017, I learned I had a mini-stroke after the entire left side of my body went numb. After reviewing my MRIs, the medical staff told me I was fine, so I returned to work 48 hours post stroke and went on as if nothing had happened, outside of picking up a terrible caffeine habit of 6 to 8 cups of coffee a day to deal with the exhaustion I was left with. On a side note, with a lot of work, I am now 100% coffee free.

As time went on, I noticed my balance wasn't quite right; I initially thought it was a side effect of my double mastectomy with reconstruction surgeries in 2015 and 2016. I accepted the imbalance as part of my new normal after consulting with five specialists, including a top-rated Neurologist who said I was fine.

As I began ramping up for IRONMAN in 2020, my imbalance became more noticeable. I couldn't breathe bilaterally in the water despite being able to swim 2.5 miles straight, and I struggled with my balance while eating on a bike. I soon realized it was the stroke, not the mastectomy, that was throwing off my balance, but I thought too many years had passed to course correct...that is until I was hit by a car while running six weeks ago on March 30. The direct impact from the vehicle resulted in a broken elbow and several stitches on my dominant left side.

At first, the accident left me crushed; I was in optimal training mode as just days earlier, I had swum 2.5 miles in less than 1.5 hours, ran 17 miles, and cycled 65 miles. I didn't know how I was going to pull through.

The very next day, despite being sore and bruised up, I managed an easy 17-mile ride on my indoor trainer. The day after that, I progressed to two mini workouts to keep my endurance up. On day 4, I attempted to run. And it was awkward at best. With my dominant side out of use and no elbow swinging allowed, my balance and gait were thrown off, not to mention the splint was so heavy, leaving my shoulder stiff and my left fingers numb from the stiff position. But I kept at it. By run #5, I began to regain my balance and managed to run 9 miles at a 9:16 pace. Now six weeks later, I have run 188 miles and cycled 1,022 miles...and I am faster than ever in both disciplines. I didn't understand how this was possible.. until this week.

Serenpidity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

Running with the splint forced a course correction of two previous problems; the first was my weakened right side (yes right side though the mini stroke initially made my left side numb) has been forced to become my dominant side since March 30 (think getting dressed, cooking, driving, weight training, etc.). The second problem my splint addressed I learned about through a conversation with Herb Kieklak - As most runners do, I used to use my legs as the primary driver for running and then defaulted to using my arms to propel me forward. The broken elbow doesn't allow for swinging arms. Instead, As Coach K explained, I have been forced to rely much more heavily on my core and hip muscles which explains why I am running so much faster from all distances ranging from 5Ks to 15 miles while my legs feel relatively fresh... The same goes for cycling. I have been forced to ride using more of my hips and core, which has resulted in more efficient cycling. And my FTP on Zwift went from 144 to 168 since my elbow break six weeks ago - in cycling, I had no idea how much pressure I used to put on the handle bars until the elbow break; I was forced to reposition my body, using my hips to ride vs. trying to "run" on the pedals; I used to stand way too much on my bike. In both sports, my core is now the primary engine and my legs are secondary. Once the splint comes off, my arms will be the third engine... vs. before break they were the secondary engine.

While getting hit by a car should have been a bad thing, it turned out to be an incredible blessing in disguise.?The most unorthodox post-stroke rehabilitation program ever - 24 hours a day for six weeks of nonstop work strengthening my right side while forcing me to run and cycle more efficiently, relying on my core and not nearly as much on my legs. And I am confident once the splint comes off, swimming will come back in no time at all thanks to muscle memory. In 2021, I took a 7 weeks' break from swimming, and I was able to bounce back. And I can confidently say that all the adversity I have been training under now for going on three years has made me so much tougher!! Those tough days really do build you; gave me an extra kick in the butt to put training into high gear!

And a special shout to Coach Herb Kieklak for his kind and inspiring words right after my elbow break. While some people initially made comments like "all that hard work is going to waste" and even the hospital nurses made snide comments about IRONMAN and gave reasons why they don't exercise or run, Coach K posted a photo of one of his client's injuries post surgery and race results, 3rd in a regional 72-hour adventure race and said feel free to call him. We had the chance to chat yesterday, and he gave me some exercises to work on my return of range of motion in my left elbow. Nice to see authentic kindness still exist.

Ironic how a silver lining always manifests itself!