Coral finished 7th in the women’s category at the Beijing International Trail Running Challenge.
Coral
For a long time, no matter what I’ve done, I’ve always relied on quantity. It may not be about technique, but for an ordinary girl like me, it’s the best kind of foundation. When it comes to running, I’ve always gone with the approach of running more and at a slower pace. Over the past four years, I’ve trained frequently and taken part in various marathons and 100-kilometer races, yet I’ve never had any injuries. That’s something I’ve always been proud of. Of course, this “dumb” method of relying on quantity is also the main reason my running performance has consistently been at a mid-tier level. Many people have told me that my results don’t match my training volume.
However, I’ve always had a hope in my heart—whether I can achieve a qualitative leap in my trail running ability at the UTMB race on August 30th.
Before this transformation happens, for me, while ensuring my training, I need to find ways to protect myself from injury. But a few days ago, during a group run in Annecy, France, I got careless...
That morning, the four of us—Greg (male, from Salomon’s French headquarters), Julinen (2012 UTMF 160km men’s champion and 2013 second-place finisher, also from UTMF), and a male runner from Shanghai—agreed to run along the mountains by Lake Annecy. Greg and Julien led the way, and the Shanghai runner and I followed. In their eyes, I was just a trail runner from China, and they never saw me as someone who needed to be paced down for being a woman. Clearly, we weren’t in the same league as these two renowned French trail runners. Later, they noticed the gap in our abilities and slowed down to accommodate us. When running uphill, I’m usually strong on descents. When the descent finally came, I decided to push my speed. To look cooler, instead of taking the dirt path, I jumped directly over a large rock—and ended up twisting my right ankle.
Back at the hotel, the sprain had already started to swell and redden. By evening, I was already limping noticeably when walking. Since I’d never been injured before, I had no experience treating such sudden injuries. And on the third day after the twist, I went out for another 30-kilometer road run. Then I spent a whole day flying back to China, and the very next day I ran stairs for over two hours… I never really let my twisted ankle rest. It wasn’t until I finished the stair run and tried to change out of my running tights that I realized my right ankle had swollen so badly I couldn’t even pull my pants off—I was stunned.
In the days that followed, I constantly sought advice from friends knowledgeable about sports injuries and started trying out various folk remedies for ankle treatment. For example: drinking Sanqi powder on an empty stomach in the morning (to invigorate blood circulation), applying ice packs intermittently (to reduce swelling), stretching the injured ankle constantly (to prevent fascial adhesion), getting traditional Chinese massage therapy (for realignment), and applying various bruise and injury ointments. On top of that, I obediently took four full days off from running. Of course, the most important thing was wearing a proper ankle brace after the twist (to protect the injured area).
Later, I summed up some lessons from this injury:
1. While running, especially during trail runs, don’t attempt any unknown or risky moves;
2. After getting injured, stop training as appropriate—don’t worsen the injury by continuing to train;
3. A good massage works wonders after a sprain;
4. Use trusted protective gear whenever possible;
5. During trail runs on rough terrain, stay focused and calmly handle cheers and glances from good-looking guys around you. Only when the path is safe should you blow kisses or flash a look back.
(The author, Coral, overcame her injury and finished 7th in the women’s category at the 100km Beijing International Trail Challenge four days later. She will also be heading to France this August to compete in the 168km UTMB around Mont Blanc.)