In his own words: Jesse Southard - My Last Injury… Hopefully


My Last Injury… Hopefully

This post is going to be a little different from my first two. It's not going to be super happy, but it's going to be more recent.

I have been super lucky, for the most part, with injuries. I dealt with a bad hamstring and achilles during my freshman season and then this past spring had some nasty shin problems. I have been super blessed. I ended up taking some time off after outdoor to let my shins heal up before I really started training for XC. It was a long process getting back because I had to take my time to make sure they were actually better. I worked my way into running around 50 miles a week, while also swimming and biking. I was feeling really great with all the work and the cuts I had made in my diet.

XC season came and I had a bit of a disappointing preseason, I came up short of personal goals and couldn't wait for the SMAA Relays. Then they were canceled and i was really mad. I went out and came up a little short of my goal of a 16:20 my first meet. Since then I have not run a normalish 5K, running at Marshwood(Really hilly), South Portland(Only 2.7 miles), Thetford(Extremely difficult), and I was unable to run this past week.

None of these things compare to the scare and anxiety I experienced over the past week plus. During the race in Thetford, VT, I experienced a popping pain in my left shin just before the mile mark. Now instead of dropping out, would have been my first time, I ran on it for the next 2.1 miles. I finished the race, limped to our tent and sat down. I sat there holding my leg for I don't know how long. I put on sunglasses so no one could see my eyes, but everyone knew I was in pain. The bus ride back for me was a tough one. I was thinking the worst had happened. I thought I was going to be done for the season.

The next week was a blur. I saw the school's health teacher(a certified athletic trainer), our sports trainer and our school's team doctor. They all told me things I didn't want to hear. One said torn muscle, another said stress fracture, but all I heard was end of the season. Wednesday I had X-Rays and an MRI done on my leg and they both confirmed I didn't have a stress fracture, the best news I might have ever heard. But I did have a torn facia in my left leg. After that they told me it wasn't a big deal because there is a surgery that does what I just did.

I was on high after that. The best news was, if it didn't hurt I could run whenever I wanted. This injury almost kept me from running in my senior meet and I was distraught. I am still not sure if I will be running, but it will be my decision and not a doctors.

I would like to thank those who I have talked to in the XC community. They have all been super nice and concerned about me and it means so much. It's amazing how a sport can bring us all together, and even though I am your enemy on the course, you are all amazing off of it.