TORONTO January 26th 2015. Digital Champion Lauren Simmons ran cross-country in grade 7 and 8, inspired by her Dad, a sub-3 Boston Marathon runner. In university, she lived near the Mt.Royal in Montreal, and ran as a way to explore her own backyard. It was in Montreal that she really fell in love with running and she’s been running ever since! In 2014 Lauren ran the Around the Bay 30k and improved her half-marathon PB by 22 minutes! When she’s not running, Lauren is a high school music teacher and librarian, involved with #WiTOPoli (Women in Toronto Politics), and is passionate about supporting local restaurants, wineries and craft breweries in Toronto’s East End, which she calls home.
When The Going Gets Tough. By Lauren Simmons. 
I’ve been a runner for almost 15 years. When I look back on the early years of my running life, I can’t help but think how naive I was: running long runs three times a week, never stretching, running on worn-out shoes – all kind of bad habits. Of course, like every runner who keeps at it long enough, I’ve had my fair share of injuries in the last few years – some from over-training, some from freak accidents, and some from muscle imbalances. But I’m here to tell you that as dark as it may seem when you can’t get out and run, there is a light at the end of the tunnel – and if you’re injured now, that light can still very well be running the Toronto Yonge Street 10K.
My first running injury was a stress fracture, and it was the first time I was really humbled as to how fickle the human body can be. If you’re new to running, you’ll want to watch out for these if you’re increasing your mileage too much or too quickly. My foot started hurting about 3 weeks into my first half-marathon training plan, and by 2 months in I was benched for 6 weeks with a hairline fracture in my toe. Lesson learned: don’t run too much too soon.
I’ve had a few accidents in my time that have put dents in my running, too. I got hit by a car at crosswalk (I pushed the button, he was in wrong!) and I rolled my ankle going down, tearing tendons in my foot and ankle. I spent the first few weeks on crutches, and again had 6 weeks until I could run, and had to shelve plans for a spring half-marathon for the second year in a row. It was frustrating, even more so because I had had an injury the year before, but knowing that the accident could have been much worse put some things in perspective.
I’m currently coming off of a groin/adductor tear that has had me benched from running since early December. 2014 was my banner year: I PBd in the 30, 21.1, 15, 10 and 8k distances, and had been injury free. But sadly, this injury came for me, like many do for others, from an imbalance in muscle strength. I felt my left glute tighten after and during my training for my half-marathon last fall, but I didn’t treat it. I didn’t foam roll consistently, didn’t get massage or physio, and eventually the weakness there led to compensation in my inner thigh, which ended up torn. I spent most of December hobbling and moody, mad to be missing the unseasonably warm weather and clear sidewalks ideal for winter running. I shelled out the cash to visit my sports doctor/chiro/acupuncture/ART/miracle worker almost weekly, and dutifully winced through home treatments with the foam roller, lacrosse ball and “The Stick”. Last week, I ran for the first time, only 4k, and while I felt pain the next day, I was back to running again this week, and felt less pain time.
This is how running works. It builds us up to break us down. And in that way, running is a great metaphor for life. I’ve some personal ups and downs in the last few months, too, and it’s been a huge source of frustration for me that I haven’t had my long runs to clear my mind. But I push on. We all do. Through life, through the hard times, and through the parts when our bodies let us down. If we work hard, respect our own limitations and set reasonable goals, we can all get back in the game. I’ve set my sights on building back the speed and strength I worked so hard to achieve in 2014, I’ve been cross-training and have kept my weight down – I’m ready to PB in the Yonge Street 10k, just like I did last year.
