Many of you may know Lisa Buohler’s story. She is the competitive duathlete who was horribly injured while out on a training ride a week before she was to compete for the USA at the ITU World championships in Spain. Lisa was hit from behind by an SUV and left clinging for her life. Her spine was fractured in five places and her liver was lacerated. The muscles in her left buttock and calf were severely damaged, her shoulder torn. It would be some time before she could walk again.
I can remember giving her words of encouragement soon after the accident. Her mental fortitude even at that terrible time was amazingly positive. While doctors would come in with looks that told her to slow down, she privately kept her focus on recovery and getting back to being competitive. She never outwardly complained. Her thoughts always turned to “what good does it do to complain? The only choice you have is to push forward—to make progress—surgeries and injuries—nobody really knows.”
I was lucky to be alive … not paralyzed, but just groggy on morphine in ICU , severely broken, but alive.!! I had been intrusively slammed into by an SUV and thrown off my bike and into the road 20ft ahead, I remember the taste of dirt and blood and the extreme pain that caused me to become delusional.”
Recovery
Three years later Lisa has just returned from the Powerman World Championships and ITU long course in Switzerland. Gold was within her grasp when she ran into a snag on the bike. She was hitting 47mph on the descents and ended up out of control at 32 mph on an S curve, crashing and landing in the mud.
While the crash left her with a thumb that “felt like a piece of rubber” and the impact of the aero bars on her ribs left her breathing labored, she got back up like she always does. She had quite a run through the mountains left. 30K with (18.6 miles) of brutal steep graded hills at inclines of 16-25%!
She describes the experience as “really hard and humbling.” She managed a podium at bronze and slightly regrets having taken unwise risks on those hills. Others might have dropped out after such a devastating crash. It was a gutsy performance. Now, when Lisa has pains in her neck or her breathing is labored, it just reminds her of the patience needed. She remembers the point of wanting the results NOW and the incremental, little by little, progress that has gotten her back. She reads someone post “I had a bad run today” and thinks how thankful she is to just be able to run at all. Perspective can be a wonderful thing. It is so very humbling and we take so much for granted.
Read her full recounting here! ~ See the course here!
Life Lessons
In talking with Lisa, she admitted that this latest injury reminds her of just how fragile life is. She is reminded of the the extreme patience that has enabled this incredible recovery in the first place. While she might not be exceeding 50mph on the swiss declines for a bit, and running will be temporarily painful, never bet against Lisa’s determination. Her will to compete is beyond inspiring.
Many follow her blog and Facebook page. I asked her what it is like to know she has become a bit of a role model for others. She told me this story. A Cancer survivor whom she had never met, introduced herself to Lisa at an event. She had been following Lisa’s blog and admitted that it had deeply inspired her and helped her to fight back. Lisa was incredibly touched. Lisa has received emails and stories from others she has inspired. This allows her to open up more with her readers.
You can follow Lisa’s Blog here!
Lisa is blessed to have a great support network of friends, family, and one training partner in particular. Her friend Xavier has been an incredible training partner. Xavier has had trouble with his knees over the years and focussed his training on the bike. They push each other hard and enjoy their long bike rides. Lisa’s husband Sebastian prefers she not be on long solo rides if at all possible anymore. One day after a ride, Lisa convinced Xavier to run a mile with her. He had given up running but that wasn’t enough of a reason for Lisa. She said “Xavier why can’t you run? Your knees are ok now? Just try it.” He was very winded after just one mile but has signed up for his first marathon now. He is pictured running with Lisa at the Gobble Gobble above. Their friendship and camaraderie is one of the beautiful things about sport: Challenging each other to make each other better together.
While she is staying away from the sprint distance for the time being, her 15K and half marathon running have improved since the accident. By pushing beyond what was comfortable, she made herself able to walk/run her first Boston Marathon in April of 2012. That was only 7 months after her life threatening accident. Now she’s back on podiums everywhere. She is very happy about improving on the bike as well. “I really didn’t know deep down (if I would recover)–I wouldn’t accept that it wasn’t possible.”
Ties to Gobble Gobble
Lisa has run the Gobble Gobble with her daughter since 2012. I asked her to briefly describe why she loves a race that can’t be nearly as competitive as others she has run. Lisa said, “That race has such a great feeling. I have done some of the others. There is such good harmony around. It is such a beautiful course. It is homey, a nice warm feeling. While its not as much about the awards, it’s about feeling good. There is plenty of good competition if that is what you are looking for though. It pushes you to run harder.”
She and her daughter Jade come in from Lehigh Acres, even though it takes between 45-60 minutes to commute to the race. She says it is well worth it.
Lisa was featured in the inaugural issue of Fit Nation Magazine, one of our media sponsors. See the great article here.
She can also be seen featured in Platform magazine, Endurance running, Competitor mag and Espn. Come say hello to Lisa at the next Gobble Gobble!