The B Word

Not the one you’re thinking of…

Thinking back, the year has been an interesting one.  Off to a great start with the Goofy Challenge in January.  And not just the Goofy Challenge, but the Goofy Challenge with the Hubs by my side the entire way!

 

Fun at Disney!

 

And then, I completed my first trail race.  Sure, I could have done the 10K as my first ever trail race.  But no, as usual I had to jump in with both feet and register for the half marathon.  It was a blast!  I loved it.  Well, except for the bad fall at the end that resulted in a mighty fine looking shiner.  But still, no regrets. 

 

Doesn't look too bad...but a few days later, I had a lovely black eye! 

 

 Most of you don’t know, I’ve picked 2014 as my year to get all those pesky dental issues taken care of.  Soooo….a couple of root canals, some old fillings replaced and an extraction (and prep for an implant) later and well, I’m still in pain.  I’ve been taking ibuprofen on a semi-regular basis since late May.  Definitely some regrets here.  Don’t worry, I am seeing a DIFFERENT dentist very soon.

And next – the dreaded “B” word.

Broken.

As in bone.

My foot.  My 5^th metatarsal to be exact. 

In case you were asking yourself, "Where's the 5th metarsal?"

How, you ask?

Stupid story. Three weeks ago, I thought I was going to have boring evening at home – the Hubs was out and the kids were at the Grandparent’s house.  At the last minute, I texted two friends to see if there was any chance at all they could meet up.  It was highly unlikely, since they also have kiddos and busy schedules, but I figured why not.  And much to my surprise, they were both available…score!!! 

So, we were out having dinner and while walking toward the back of the restaurant, I managed to trip and fall.  I’m quite sure I looked very graceful.  Honestly, it didn’t seem that bad.  I was more embarrassed than in pain.  Dinner was great, conversation with friends was great...overall, a great time and no idea that I had really injured my foot.  However, the next morning I knew I had more than a bit of a bruise.  The Hubs and I went to the Woodlands Fit annual pace placement run (I watched) and I had to hobble to the start of the run.  On the way home, we decided that I would go to the nearby urgent care and have my foot checked out.

Here is the result…

Lovely purple toes....

My very fashionable orthopedic shoe!

So what does a triathlete do when they break a bone? 

Ask how quickly they can start swimming, biking and running, of course.  The doc at the urgent care was hesitant to give me a timeline, so I was off to see an Orthopedic who specializes in the foot and ankle on Monday.

His prognosis?

Yep, still broken.  I can swim as soon as I feel comfortable…my foot has been sore so far, so I’ve been scared to even attempt to swim.  And, I am scared to death of slipping on the slippery tiles surrounding the pool at the gym.  I will get there eventually, but until then I will do some strength training.

I can bike in a few weeks (I hope).  Only on a stationary bike or trainer, but it’s better than nothing.  I am hoping that in another week or two, I will be brave enough to get the bike shoe on my foot and ride.  It seems really unlikely at the moment, but I’m trying to be optimistic.

And running? Well, running is the wildcard.  At first, I was told that at around 6 weeks I could start walking for exercise and very slowly try adding in the running.  Later, I was told 3 months. No questions.  And, that was IF my foot was healing properly.  Sigh.

What does this mean?

It means that you have a very sad, depressed TXRunnerMom at times. 

It means no races for the rest of 2014.  No Cypress Triathlon this past weekend.  No Towne Lake on Labor Day.  No 10 for Texas in October.  No OILMAN 70.3 in November!  That last one was the toughest to swallow.  I was really, really hoping to be able to do this one again in preparation for Ironman Texas.  Besides, November seemed so far away.  I’m not sure what this means for the Aramco Houston ½ Marathon in January just yet.  We’ll see…

What else does this mean?

Well, for someone who doesn’t train for marathons and triathlons, it sucks.  It’s an inconvenience – walking the dog is impossible, going to the grocery store is difficult, going up and down the stairs is a challenge. 

For someone who does (constantly) train for marathons and triathlons, it sucks even more.  It means not doing that 56-mile bike ride, going stir crazy from watching too much HGTV and DIY TV while sitting on the couch with your foot propped up (something most of our kind is not used to doing).  It means that instead of going into IMTX training feeling strong and fit, you hope that you can at least not lose too much of your swim and bike endurance and hope to have a little bit of a base built up on the run before IMTX training starts in January.

 

I am trying to look on the bright side…

I was afraid of getting burned out by January, especially after all the training that Oilman would have required.  Guess I don’t have to worry about that.

So far, I’ve been able to sit my arse of the couch in front of the TV.  Believe it or not, this is something I have occasionally wished I had time to do.  Of  course after about an hour of this, I begin to go stir crazy…I am not good at sitting and doing nothing.

Taking a break from all the HGTV to watch some Harry Potter

 

I do get to spend more time with my Hubby and kiddos.  I am bummed that some of our summer activities will need to be postponed…there will be no going to Wet n’ Wild (I can imagine hitting my foot going down a waterslide), no going to Space Center Houston (way too much walking), limited time at the pool, etc.  But, we can still do some fun things together – movies, making tents in the living room, etc.

And think of all the money I am saving on race entries, coaching and nutrition!

So that’s my update.  I figure that if I can at least get some swimming and biking in over the next few months, I will only have the running to worry about.  If I truly can run in late September/early October, I can start building my base between then and January.  I have to believe that it will all work out.