Trish Barry Borboa Is a PT Focusing On Healing The Mind And The Body
Trish Barry Borboa will be joining me on the show today and we will have no shortage of topics to discuss.
Beyond her running life, she is also a physical therapist with a passion for helping runners.
I am looking forward to going a few easy miles with Trish Barry Borboa today.
A Slow Growing Love For The Sport
Trish Barry Borboa grew up watching her dad run daily.
Trish credits her dad for her love of the sport, but she wasn’t always so happy to run.
She competed on the track team from 7th to 9th grade and then she quit.
Trish didn’t have the same passion her dad did for running.
Though Trish never again competed on a team, she still continued to run throughout the years.
Trish found herself in North Dakota as an adult and wanted to take advantage of the winter sports.
She took up snowshoe running which eventually led to more trail running.
Trish began to go longer and is still continuing to push her limits.
Do As She Says, Not As She Does
Trish ran her first ultra, a 50-mile race, untrained.
She signed up a mere 48 hours before the race with her longest run being around 10 miles.
Trish would never recommend this approach to a race, but aside from the chafing, she loved every second.
She went into the race not knowing what she was doing and came out with a new community surrounding her.
Trail races drew Trish in with the immediate community experience.
Trish recommends finding a group that runs trails as a way to get into trail running.
Post Injury Fears
Following her first ultra, Trish’s next race was a road half marathon.
She had a goal to break 1:30, but an unexpected injury at mile 3 derailed her plans.
Even with breaking her foot at mile 3, Trish still managed to finish the race.
The injury kept her away from running for the next year.
Her first race back was a 50k in April of 2019.
The race went well and without incident, but Trish wasn’t prepared for her constant worry about re-injuring her foot.
Following the race, Trish had to work on re-training her brain to not allow fear of injury to hold her back.
Dreaming Big
Trish always knew that she someday wanted to complete a 100-mile race.
Her first attempt was in 2019 and unfortunately ended in a DNF with about 20 miles to go.
Her training leading up to the race wasn’t ideal and her foot began to give her issues 2 weeks before the race.
Trish was fearful at the start of the race but still determined to finish.
The rocky terrain turned out to be a huge factor in her foot pain increasing over the course of the race.
Hypothermia late in the race also contributed to Trish making the decision to drop out.
Though Trish didn’t get the finish she wanted, she learned a lot about herself during the race.
Trish is ultimately more concerned about her longevity in the sport versus getting a finish.
“Misuse” Injuries
Trish always loved science but didn’t grow up wanting to be a Physical Therapist.
During her undergrad, she majored in Sports medicine.
Dealing with injury herself, influenced her decision to become a PT.
Trish is a big proponent of preventative maintenance and encourages clients to be consistent.
Even 5 to 10 minutes a day of exercises can go a long way in preventing injuries and remaining healthy.
Don’t wait until injury strikes to do something.
The first thing Trish addresses with an injured runner is their form.
The majority of issues can usually be tied back to improper form.
Put Out The Fire First
When deciding which area of the body to focus on, Trish suggests first working on whatever area is having issues.
It is also crucial to determine why the “fire” happened.
A Physical Therapist should always look up and down away from the injury to help determine a cause.
The area of the injury is rarely where the issue is stemming from.
Balance and stability are hugely important to a runner’s health and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Foot and toe strength is another area that contributes largely to staying injury-free.
There is often a stigma attached to injured runners and the intense emotions they feel.
Trish wants everyone to know it’s, “ok to not be ok,” and encourages injured runners to find someone to talk to.
This post is accompanied by an episode of my podcast, Diz Runs Radio.
Click this link to listen to my conversation with Trish Barry Balboa.
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Originally published at http://www.dizruns.com on November 25, 2019.