On the road to recovery

Junior distance runner Caitlin Napoleoni cheers her teammates on while stretching after her workout Thursday afternoon in Lantz Fieldhouse. (Amir Prellberg / The Daily Eastern News)

Doing the little things has helped Caitlin Napoleoni's recovery. Those little things include taking a vitamin tablet, working in the weight room and eating spinach for iron deficiency.

Yes. Eating spinach.

"I hate spinach," she said. "If you want to get iron in you, eat spinach."

But all of these things are necessary for the Eastern junior on the women's track and field team as she perseveres through mono, shin splints and anemia. She doesn't have enough iron in her blood, so the spinach helps with her iron intake.

The junior from Crystal Lake could get her first chance to compete this Saturday as Eastern hosts the EIU Invitational today and Saturday at O'Brien Field.

Napoleoni said she should be ready to go, which would be her first track competition since the last outdoor season. Napoleoni missed the indoor season and only competed in three meets during the cross country season.

Her recovery process has been slow, but she knows Eastern head coach Tom Akers wanted her to get back at the right pace.
The 3,000-meter steeplechaser and 5,000-meter runner has been patient on the sidelines, but also working out by herself. 

"It sucks," Napoleoni said. "It really does. Having to be patient and wait is not fun."

Napoleoni never got sick in high school, only maybe save for once during her senior year.

Napoleoni admits the anemia part is her fault because she didn't take enough iron into her system.

She had no problems in light practices and classes, but struggled in hard practices and 'tanked' in meets.

"(Former head cross country coach Geoff Masanet) was like 'You're not this bad, you're not this awful,'" Napoleoni said.

She went to a doctor and the doctor told her body didn't have enough hemoglobin about for or five weeks into the cross country season.

Compound the anemia with mono and these two factors don't bode well. But Napoleoni hasn't given up yet.

She started running right before the winter break and has been trying to add mileage since January. 

She's had friends to keep her motivated, like the distance group she trains with-Masanet, Akers and red-shirt sophomore Brad LaRocque of the men's track team.

"He's that guy that always there, not even just for me but (for the team)," Napoleoni said. "It's hard to explain."

Akers, who has helped monitor and guide Napoleoni in her workouts, admires her perseverance. 

"She still has a love for the sport," he said. "That's a testament to her attitude."

Napoleoni has had success while battling through illness and injuries. Her resume is stacked for only two years of competition.

She finished second in the steeplechase her freshman year at the Ohio Valley Conference outdoor championships. During her sophomore year, she finished fourth in the 3,000-meter run and fifth in the 5,000-meter run at the OVC indoor championships. She finished fourth in the steeplechase last season at the OVC outdoor championships. She holds the fifth best all-time mark in the steeplechase in program history (11 minutes, 24.84 seconds). 

Eastern senior Erin O'Grady said some people don't realize the full potential of Napoleoni's skills since she's been injured so much. O'Grady also said she can't wait to race with her top running partner, like the steeplechase.

"I'm really excited for her," O'Grady said. "It's great to see her running every day."

Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944 or kjmurphy@eiu.edu