Good morning friends. Well, not a very good morning for me. As some of you saw on my Twitter and Facebook yesterday, I am not confined to the boot. Meet my new friend. accessory.
You may remember I have been complaining of foot pain for about a month. I even took two complete weeks off running, and only logged about 20 miles in the month of November. In case you are catching up…it started hurting SLIGHTLY, more of just pressure on the top of my left foot, during the Rock n Roll St. Louis half marathon. I rested a couple days after the half, then ran an easy 3 miler in which my foot hurt AFTER I got back and for the next day or so. I took another couple days off, then ran 6 miles with Bobby, and it hurt badly about halfway through the run. That’s when I decided to ice it, take ibeprofin, and two weeks off.
After two weeks I ran twice, a 2.5 miler and a 3 miler. Both of which I got a little pressure towards the end of the run but not really pain if that makes any sense. So, I decided to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. My foot started throbbing at mile 2, but I still managed to place in my age group! But, I knew something was really wrong after that. My foot hurt for days, so on Monday morning I made a Tuesday appointment to see an orthopedist. The doctor said it could have been a combination of things, but was most likely the fact that I raced half’s 3 weekends out of five while working three expos on my feet all day.
So This morning off I went, had x-rays done, and the doctor said they looked normal, BUT stress fractures often don’t show up on x-rays. So, as I suspected, it’s one of two things: a stress fracture or bad tendonitis. He said treatment for both is relatively the same, so I am to stay in the boot for three weeks, come back for more x-rays and to test it out. If it still hurts, it is likely a stress fracture and I stay in the boot another 2-3 weeks. If not, I can ease my way back into running.
I’m really ok with this!
Who am I kidding? this sucks!
Please excuse the mess, I was folding laundry today on the couch.
Anyway, I am really discouraged right now. I can’t run, I can’t do cardio. I can only lift upper body weights. And our YMCA isn’t officially open yet, just my luck.
Also, in an effort to keep it real here on RWS, which I always try to do, I am going to admit another fear I have….I am afraid I am going to gain weight. Some of you may be rolling your eyes, but I am just trying to be honest. I struggle with maintaining and indulging a bit too much around the holidays, so what’s going to happen when I can’t do much moving around? I have already sat around for two weeks not running, and now another three? I haven’t been inactive for FIVE weeks in several years. Maybe not ever now that I think of it.
I am being very careful how I word this, because I want you all to know I love food and would never starve myself to look a certain way, ever, but also I am not the type of person who says “I don’t know where it all goes, I eat whatever I want and I stay at my same weight!” I have to work HARD to maintain my weight, it has never come easy for me. I do not want to fall into a deadly trap of restriction, especially around Christmas, but I also don’t want to pack on several unnecessary pounds I have worked hard to keep away. I have always had a very healthy relationship with food, but I have also never been in a situation where I could not work out, so I am very curious to see how this all plays out. I would much rather gain a little than starve myself, but I worry most about it constantly being on my mind every time I eat something. I will keep you posted on how I am physically and emotionally handling my new situation as we go.
QOTD: Have you ever had to wear a boot? Or a cast of any kind?
