We’re so proud of our girl and co-worker, Emily Linnert! She’s currently training for both the Amway Riverbank Run and Gazelle Girl.
Take a look at her recent blog and follow along on her journey…
Friday 8 a.m. A month ago when the appointment was scheduled I had no idea it would be the morning after I worked late covering President Trump’s rally in Grand Rapids. As I dragged myself out of bed for that early appointment I was reminded why I was on the doctor’s agenda and how thankful I was to be able to drag myself out of bed.
It started about a month ago, not long after I started training with the Amway River Bank Run Road Warriors. The Road Warriors is a group of ambassadors selected by a panel to train for the River Bank Run along with attending events promoting the big race. This year’s Road Warrior team is all women! For the last several years, a member of WOOD TV (Jack Doles, Casey Jones, Ellen Bacca) has trained with the warriors. This year that person is me.
When I started training a nagging pain deep within my hip started nagging louder. I found that I could run comfortably but when I stopped I would start limping. Throwing all good advice and intuition to the wind I ignored the pain until the morning of Friday, March 1st. You could say March came in like a lion for me…a lion biting my leg!
I woke up that morning feeling proud of the great run I’d had the night before. I ran four miles with the warriors on snow covered sidewalks through East Grand Rapids. It was a beautiful night. As I tried to get out of bed to start my Friday I winced in pain as I realized I couldn’t put any weight on my left leg. None.
I had no choice but to crawl out of bed, crawl to the bathroom and crawl down the stairs where I pulled myself up into a chair at my kitchen table to think about how I was going to make it through this day.
Through the Amway River Bank Run partnership with Spectrum I was able to connect with Dr. Jason Lazor, DO. After borrowing a pair of crutches from a neighbor I was able to make it to Dr. Lazor’s office that morning. Thankfully X-rays didn’t reveal any glaring problems. Dr. Lazor prescribed an anti-inflamatory drug and sent me straight to the physical therapy office. I left that office with a calendar full of physical therapy appointments for the month of March with Mark Scarloto, PT.
That wasn’t the only “OMG, I literally can’t walk” incident. I had a really hard time making from the newsroom to the studio for a report one evening and I had to anchor the 7 p.m. newscast sitting down.
Over the last month, I’ve been meeting with Mark twice a week and I’ve learned so much about my body. It turns out, I have really weak hip muscles. Strengthening those muscles will allow me to continue training pain-free.
My appointment with Dr. Lazor went really well. I’m happy to report March isn’t going out like a lion or a lamb for me…it’s going out like race horse!
-Emily
