Tuesday, August 5, 2008

I'm cracking up...

Or at least my foot is... I did the MRI on Saturday at Northeast GA medical center. They read the MRI on Sunday and I got a call first thing Monday from my doctor (how is that for service??). The conversation started like this, "I have some disappointing news and some optimistic news...". Oh. As it turns out, I have the beginnings of stress fractures. Two lines were on the MRI (that would be the disappointing part - we had hoped it was a sprain of some sort instead of a stress fracture). The thought is that since I went to the doctor immediately and didn't try to deal with it on my own, there is optimism for a quick recovery (the optimistic part).

We had discussed my upcoming races and training at length in previous visits so we went through them again and decided what was reasonable and waht might need to be put on hold. The Acworth women's sprint tri this weekend is not going to happen. Well, it is going to happen, I just won't be doing it. Luckily, one of my friends needed an entry so there you have it. Pay it forward, I guess... The goal is to be ready for the USTA state championships in 2 weeks so nothing but swimming and biking until the weekend of the 14th. No tennis practice, nothing.

Short term, I will probably still be able to do the Callaway Triathlon over Labor Day. Long term, Chicago has become a maybe. Mostly because it would put a lot of pressure on me to build mileage back up between now and mid-October. The doctor did feel like Disney in January was very doable so if I had to choose between the two, I would choose Disney because it is on my 40th birthday and to do a marathon that day would be pretty cool in my book.

I clearly have exercise related addiction issues, I would NEVER have thought I would have said it bothers me not to be able to run but it is really killing me. Swimming, which has always been my first love is already becoming a little boring. Biking, well let's just don't go there, it is not the same. It is interesting how much I mentally need to run. Let's face it, I run for weight control and to counteract all my less than optimal nutrition habits. Every day that goes by even though I am swimming, biking, and working out with weights feels like I am getting more and more out of shape. How crazy is that? I just never realized how much running had become part of my lifestyle in such a short period of time. In January, I couldn't run a tenth of a mile without stopping. Who would have thought I would have missed running like this only eight months later? So I guess there is my motivation to do what the doctor says and get better that much quicker! Nine more days with the boot on!

2 comments:

annamade said...

Thanks for stopping by! I feel myself headed in your direction, concerning the getting addicted part. Good luck with your foot. That must be unbearably frustrating--you'll have to take up running on your hands. :D

Kevin said...

Sorry about the bad news. But at least you caught it early. Be careful, swim and ride, and your running will come back quickly. I have never tried it before, but I have heard pool running can be good alternative when you cannot run