A series of injuries resulted in Laura Weightman having to watch from the sidelines as her team-mates excelled at major champs but the European and Commonwealth medallist is confident of still making a mark<\/h5>\n
Laura Weightman is smiling, but it\u2019s been a rough morning. First, she endured swimming in a cold pool, then \u2013 just when she needed it least \u2013 there was the added challenge of having to persevere with a cold shower. Relatively speaking, the leisure centre\u2019s broken heating was only a minor issue. It\u2019s the series of connected injuries which led to knee surgery in September of last year that have truly tested her resolve.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The two-time European 1500m medallist, who had just started to explore her full potential over 5000m with a seventh-place in the 2019 World Championships final, was in fantastic shape when a seemingly innocuous knee niggle briefly interrupted her rhythm. She didn\u2019t dwell on it. In fact, in 2020 \u2013 a lockdown year to forget for many athletes \u2013 she recorded personal best times over 1500m (4:00.09), 5000m (14:35.44) and 5km (15:10). \u201cI thought it [the niggle] was a bit strange, but it was fine, so we cracked on,\u201d says the 31-year-old Morpeth athlete.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Soon, things weren\u2019t fine, though. Weightman tore her soleus central tendon (in her calf) in November 2020 and didn\u2019t run again until early January 2021. She worked her way back to fitness with a period of base training in the UK followed by an altitude camp in Boulder, Colorado, where, according to her coach Steve Cram, she was doing workouts she\u2019d never done before. \u201cI was absolutely flying,\u201d she reflects. \u201cThere were some really positive signs.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then, in the May leading into the 2021 British Championships which doubled as the Olympic trials, the grumbling knee returned. \u201cWe just couldn\u2019t pinpoint it,\u201d she says, her frustration still evident. \u201cThen I tore my left hamstring the week of the trials.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While that issue was an unwanted disruption which thwarted any Olympic ambitions, it was relatively minor. A \u201cniggling\u201d lateral Achilles followed in the August and, in September, Weightman got Covid. She took the opportunity to briefly pause and re-set.<\/p>\n Laura Weightman (Chris Cooper)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Like the incredible workouts in Boulder, a return to racing after six weeks of training and a 31:44 clocking at the Ribble Valley 10km \u2013 her second-fastest time ever over the distance \u2013 provided hope and motivation to push on. <\/span><\/p>\n A great training camp in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in January 2022 provided another peak, but soon after returning to the UK Weightman\u2019s knee, again, required attention. This time a scan revealed a tear, but two days later that recurring niggle became inconsequential as she tore her calf. Such a significant injury required three months of no running, resulting in another missed summer. At that point, Weightman and her team decided to get it fixed as a priority ahead of a prospective knee operation.<\/span><\/p>\n An Instagram<\/i> post in June 2022 read like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. \u201cSadly, I won\u2019t be competing at the British Champs this weekend,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI\u2019ve had a challenging few months dealing with a soleus injury and I\u2019m just not ready to race\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n As she had done 12 months earlier, Weightman regained fitness relatively quickly, thanks in part to an effective cross-training programme. By July she was putting together some great track workouts and becoming confident that, by late August, she might have the opportunity to test herself in a couple of road races, not least to provide reassurance of her capability.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd then my knee started bothering me again,\u201d she says, resigned to the inevitable diagnosis. \u201cWe got it scanned and it was significantly worse than the February. The only option at that point was surgery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Weightman has endured an unfortunate and frustrating sequence of events, but her optimism and ability to get the best out of herself at every juncture is admirable.<\/p>\n Laura Weightman leads Laura Muir (Mark Shearman)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n She underwent knee surgery in September and is now totally immersed in a rehab programme which commenced with two-and-a-half weeks fully off-loaded back at her parents\u2019 house before returning (home) to Leeds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve taken a very cautious approach,\u201d she explains. \u201cI\u2019ve gone slow on purpose because I want to get it right. I don\u2019t want to rush it and be in a position where I need further surgery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe first five to six weeks were very much light rehab in terms of letting the wounds heal, activating my quad, building the range of motion and slowly beginning to toe tap and weight bear. At that point we were happy that my wounds were healed enough that I could start swimming, so I\u2019ve built that up from twice per week to four to five days per week. I\u2019m also back in the gym.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I saw the surgeon at my eight-week scan he said my knee was more stable than it was in August, but it wasn\u2019t strong. Phase two of the rehab is now about starting to move the knee through range with weights to build strength back in the meniscus. Essentially now I\u2019m starting to bend my knee and do little mini squats, mini step ups, mini lunges, all within a controlled range. It\u2019s a very diligent process but I\u2019m seeing progress every single week now.\u201d<\/p>\n While Weightman\u2019s recent focus has been off-track, her British team-mates have been delivering on it. Dealing with an injury is hard, but to watch the performances of others play out on TV and social media adds another, complex dimension.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been incredibly challenging being on the sidelines watching championships I want to be in because I just love to race,\u201d she says; \u201cbut I\u2019ve also been inspired seeing people\u2019s performances and thinking, \u2018I can do that or I want to be back there\u2019. It\u2019s added motivation to keep going.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had to draw a line under what I\u2019ve previously done. With a healthy body, healthy knee\u2026 I know I can run again, so it\u2019s almost like switching off and relaxing and focusing on the here and now. I can\u2019t be sat on the sidelines jealous or worried about what other people are doing because that\u2019s just going to delay recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cIt hasn\u2019t changed my levels of motivation, determination and belief in myself to get back, it\u2019s just made me stop and reflect and think, \u2018You know what, how lucky have you been to do this for so long?\u2019. I\u2019m not giving up or stopping, I still want this, but I\u2019ve realised I\u2019ve been lucky to have this career to date. I\u2019ve just got to go slow in this moment, not rush it and give myself a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Weightman has been inspired by glimmers of hope over the last two years, little reminders during sessions or in rare races that point to future potential waiting to be realised. She\u2019s also seen friends come through major surgery successfully and cites European triathlon champion Non Stanford as a massive inspiration.<\/p>\n She can\u2019t put a timeframe on her return to running. Importantly, she now knows that compensation \u2013 as a result of running with some level of tear in her knee for two to three years \u2013 was the likely cause of her recurring injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing through this, I\u2019d be lying if I said it had been easy, because physically and mentally it\u2019s been really difficult,\u201d she says. \u201cThere have been days where I\u2019ve literally wanted to run away and forget about it, but to see Non come back has made me believe I can do the same and have another few years in the sport on my terms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSomeone asked me to share my journey recently and I said I can\u2019t, because it isn\u2019t finished. There\u2019s still that underlying motivation of \u2018what can I do with a healthy body?\u2019 This isn\u2019t the end.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb <\/b><\/span>This article first appeared in the January 2023 issue of AW magazine. Subscribe to AW magazine here<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Laura-Weightman-and-Laura-Muir-Berlin-2018-by-Mark-Shearman-750x442.jpg\")
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