Sigh.
I have a stress fracture in my left foot. I’m going to be on rest – on crutches – for 6-8 weeks.
Maybe 4-6 if I get this quasi-experimental (read: not covered by insurance) laser treatments.
I went into the doctor’s office yesterday thinking I was going to get some advice and scolding about my routine, and came out on crutches, wearing this, being told I’m out of commission until after the new year.
I’m having a whole mix of emotions, the first of which is elation that I didn’t do any serious damage. This is an annoying injury, but not critical in relation to my running career. I don’t know when it happened, only that my recent running routine, combined with my generally rigorous cross-training, exacerbated things and ended me up here.
I felt slightly disoriented, I wasn’t prepared to walk out of there and have our lives upended. It’s meant switching our schedules to accommodate Abigail’s care, it’s meant working in extra time to my routine. It’s meant being even more mindful of what I put into my mouth because I won’t be earning 40 activity points extra a week to offset my Friday evening treat of wine and/or cheese or extra serving of whatever.
I’m sad, really and truly, even though it’s such a first-world problem to be sad about. Going almost two months without working out – I can’t even do yoga – just seems so painful to me, especially coming off of a pregnancy where I couldn’t work out much, either. God bless my colleagues – I work with hardcore runners, and my friend Kirsten has offered to join the local gym with me so I have someone to get me out at lunch time and do laps in the pool.
(As I type that out I think I will probably go ahead and do this because two months would just about kill me without a work out at this point.)
I’m admittedly feeling grateful that despite injuring myself, I spent the past six months getting back into shape so I’m not staring down two months, not being able to move and not being able to fit into any of my clothes. So while it’s highly unlikely I’ll be losing any additional weight, I can mentally handle maintenance.
I’m not in much pain. I’m just in much annoyance. And this of course puts the NOLA Half relay in jeopardy, but I’m not counting it out.
I did just agree to do The Ragnar Relay series with some of my friends from work come June. Clearly I refuse to give up my dreams of becoming a serious athlete by age 40. I suppose a stress fracture means I’m well on my way…
