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Need encouragement..re:stress fracture
My first triathlon of the season was supposed to be next Sunday. I was mainly training for my first 1/2 Ironman which is the last week in June. The doctor suspects (but it didn't show on an xray) a stress fracture in my right foot.
I am beyond bummed. I know in the grand scheme of life it isn't a huge deal but in my life it was. I was doing everything right. I had a coach, I was adding distance slowly and was running slower. In fact I was running less than any other season.
I've been off of my foot for almost a week now and it doesn't feel any better. At all. I thought rest would help a little and I know a week isn't that long but I thought it would feel slightly better.
Please give me hope that I'll be able to run again. I know my 70.3 is out for June but I have a couple of other races in August and beyond I'm signed up for. I qualified for a (and got free entry!!!!) into the Hyvee championship in Des Moines in September and the USAT age group nationals in Burlington
I just want an ounce of hope. Also, I'm having a hard time not being a complete jealous b*tch to my DH who gets to go out and train.
Re: Need encouragement..re:stress fracture
I'm sorry. That is such a bummer.
By chance, is this just a regular doctor? I would definitely see a podiatrist if you haven't yet.
;::Breathe:: It's only been one week. You have to give it time to heal and get better.
It IS too bad that this came up. One thing to remember is that goals are always flexible. Sure, that may not be the easiest pill to swallow, but your goals for your races can be pushed to later dates.
Last year I had a HUGE goal and I got a stress fracture in my foot too. It was a big set back and I then had to reevaluate my goals. Honestly one thing I can recommend to you is examining your perspective on the stress fracture and how you want to use THIS time to your most advantage.
Rest and recovery is important. Take this time and really use it.
You can still lift weights, swim and even stationary bike--you have a unique opportunity to set some goals in these areas without focusing so much on running.
The reality is that NO you can't run during this time, but yes, you can still stay in running shape and come back close to what you were at before.
Aqua jog: I used this plan when I was injured and it worked really well: (It has the information about aqua jogging and then scroll down for the link to the schedule)
http://pfitzinger.com/labreports/water.shtml
Look, if it makes you feel any better I had a stress fracture at this exact time last year. In August a ran a 4.5 minute PR in a half marathon at 8,000 feet. So yes. I think you absolutely can and will run again.
My friend who is an Olympian had a stress reaction, took the proper time off and came back to be top 5 in the Chicago Marathon. Another friend I have had stress fracture and she got second in the LA marathon last year.
I know it feels like you are alone, but you aren't. Do what you are supposed to do, and yeah, absolutely be sad that your plans aren't working how you thought they would. But it's not the END of your plans, it's just a change in them...you HAVE to be flexible and recalculate on the path to your goals.
i, too, have dealt with injuries over the last year. last year, 2 months before IM lake placid i tore a muscle in my foot and couldn't run for over a month.
the best part about being a triathlete, though, is that you can usually get clearnance to bike and swim to your hearts content. talk to your podiatrist about riding and swimming. if you get clearance, turn lemons into lemonade and use this time to work on your bike and swim.
my bike speed and endurance last year was better than it's ever been as a result.
also, depending on how much of a running base you have, your june 70.3 might not be out of the question. again, i had to take over a month off from running last year and only got clearance to start again 3 weeks prior to IM. i was still able to ride my AWESOME bike fitness and my run base to a decent marathon. talk to your coach.
finally, the fall is a great time for 70.3s. there are a TON out there. maybe you just move your goal back a few months.
good luck!
Thank you guys so much. You don't know how much it has helped. I've just been in such a bad mood because of this. Then I feel bad for feeling bad because really there are much bigger issues in the worlld.
I am trying to stay positive. Its hard because the doctor (it is a podiatrist) doesnt want me even swimming for this first week. I'm hoping that after I see him next week he will clear me to at least swim.
Making everything really boring is that I cant work either. SInce the FAA won't let me wear a walking cast (LOL) I can"t fly. So I can't workout, I can't fly....I'm pretty much worthless!
You guys have definetely given me hope though. I'll try to remain positive.....and lay off the wine....
First off, i'm so sorry!
I stress fractured my foot in July of last year.... and while (as you said) it wasn't the end of the world, it was still pretty awful. It's really hard to go from being super active to taking it easy.
Last year, DH and I had gotten permits to hike the grand canyon (you have to get them 6 months in advance) and were unable to do it because of my stupid broken foot. It sucked! I had to drop out of several races I had already signed up for. I hear you on not being able to do the races you are signed up for!
It took a while to recover and the whole process was sooooo slow. I kept expecting things to feel better, and it always took much longer than I wanted. I broke my foot in July and the first race I ran was in october and it was only 5K... which was about what I could do at that point. Once you are back to running (which you will be!!), you have to build milage very slowly to avoid re-injury. I would hope that you will be better for some of the races you are already signed up for.... but I wouldn't sign up for any more just now. Wait until you are back to running and know exactly how much running your foot can take because the last thing you want to do is re-injure it.
Spinning saved me from insanity during recovery.
Best of luck with your recovery!
So frustrating! I couldn't swim when I broke my foot last fall. It hurt like crazy. I could do the stationary though when I wore my cast and tons of ab workouts and weights. LOL
I hope it heals quickly and stays away!
I think it's very nice that you recognize that there are greater problems than a broken foot...it honestly will keep you from going down down down. That being said, it's also okay to acknowledge that it's a disappointment and it hurts! That stuff seems like pretty normal behavior.
It sucks that you have to take off this first week--but REALLY (I'm just emphasizing this b/c it's important)--you need to focus on getting your foot better. Listen to how it feels and resting IS part of your job right now. You have to do it right. You were taking your training seriously right? Now you need to take this recovery and healing phase just as seriously--and try not to apologize for that! It's an interesting thing b/c when things are going the way we want--it's easy to say "Ohhh I'm enjoying where I'm at right now--I'm in the present moment.."
But when it sucks--wow we can get present focused really fast!
I'd recommend trying hard to be present focused with this. There isn't anything you can do about it, you just gotta get through it--and do your best, and then be consistently flexible and re-evaluate as you go along.
Wallow, be in the moment, and then when you can DO what you can
Oh hon, you take one oar and I'll take the other and we can row this boat that we're both in to shore.
Today I had to go watch a duathlon that I was registered for. Calvin was doing it, and so were a bunch of people in my tri club. I did race photos, but man, it SUCKED to watch the start. And the finish. And everything in between. So I know how hard it is not to be jealous. It's even harder than when he comes home and talks and talks and talks about how great he just felt on his run, or how he held whatever pace in his tempo run. I've decided that it's ok to be jealous, I'm allowing myself that, it's just not ok to be unkind or mean about it. Sometimes I have to tell him that I'm glad he's had a good run, but hearing all about it all over dinner is really hard for me right now, so maybe we can talk about X instead.
My stress fracture's in my ankle, and I have no idea what this summer will hold race-wise. I can't tell you what comes next because I don't know either, but just wanted to post in solidarity. I don't know how long it'll take, but we WILL be running and doing tri's again soon.