“In September I was hit by a car while running and suffered a broken neck, a tibial plateau fracture, and the fracture of both big toes.
After multiple surgeries, months of immobility, PT, and a closed manipulation procedure, I was functional. However, I wanted to go beyond functional and get back to running and cycling.
I came to SOL with the goal of not only being able to run but to increase speed and endurance.
Working out with my trainer revealed many of the weaknesses that had developed as a result of the accident and subsequent immobility. He has helped me strengthen muscles that support my knee and all other parts of my body that facilitate running. He tailored the workouts to accommodate my limitations, motivated me to reach workout goals, and gave constant encouragement.
My trainer constantly adjusted workouts to fit my needs. As an example, because I fell a couple of times while running, he figured out the source and gave me exercises to correct the deficit.
When I first started at SOL, I could barely run one mile, but sometime during my training with my trainer, I realized that I may be able to fulfill one my goals - to run Bay2Breakers. For me, walking the race was not an option, and so I worked hard with my trainer and faithfully worked at the home/gym exercises he gave to me. His workouts for me were intentional and purposeful and improved my strength, speed, flexibility and endurance.
Consequently, I felt confident enough to run Bay2Breakers. I was slower than my pace from two years ago but ran fast enough to place 11th out of 900 women in my age division. I ran strong and felt great the entire 7.5 miles.
I recovered quickly and by the following Wednesday was ready to continue to working with my trainer.
Although my summer schedule precludes me from weekly sessions at SOL, my journey to recover is not yet complete. I hope to return to SOL in the fall, but meanwhile I am so very thankful for the progress made.
Thank you to all the SOL Performance Trainers!” -C.D.
