The Girl With the Broken Foot

I'm NOT the girl with the broken foot who wrote "Five Weeks Without Running!"

Let me explain.  I'm not the only author for this blog, Carrie Wilson is one as well.  "Five Weeks..." was the first (and as yet only) post Carrie has written.  Now...when a post is completed, I have it automatically sent to my Face Book page and the Dixie Daredevil page.  It is also emailed to anyone who has subscribed (including my mother).  Can you see where this is going??  My mother, along with several of my friends, believed I was the girl with the broken foot!!  (You should go back and read the comment my mom left-it's pretty funny!)  So sorry for the confusion!  You can see who wrote the post by looking at the bottom of the entry--but only if you are on the page.  I think the email feed comes directly from ME so it will always look like I wrote it.  (Not to mention we have a very similar writing style!)

....and no, she is not the girl with the broken foot THIS story is about, I just thought it was ironic.

So, if it's not me, and it's not Carrie, maybe you're wondering who this is.  Or, maybe you're wondering why I'm writing about her.  Allow me to explain.

Several girls from Huntsville went over to Atlanta this weekend to participate in the Athleta Iron Girl Sprint Tri.  ANOTHER of my Dixie Daredevil teammates, Sarah Coleman, and I were among them.  Alas, Sarah is the girl.  (Yes, two girls on the team with broken feet...we're a driven bunch, what can I say!  ...but Carrie's is healed up, so we currently only have one...)

I digress...

About a week ago Sarah got the unfortunate news what she believed to have been plantar faciitis was a stress fracture.  She received this news only after it progressed into a full on broken bone.  You might think she opted out of the sold out race she registered for pre-injury.  You might think she went to cheer on her friends and collect her tshirt and swag bag.  You might even go so far to think she went ahead and participated in the 587 yard open water swim for practice.

You'd be right...but one thing led to another and the night before the race she decided she would swim, and bike...and then walk the "run" in her fancy boot.  However, as I was leaving T2 I bumped into someone and realized immediately Sarah was not only NOT walking in her boot...she was BEATING ME by about 10 minutes (because she started about 10 minutes after me) and here we were running together!!

Fleeting hopes of her needing to slow down quickly vanished as I reminded myself just how competitive she really is.  As I started to fade, we neared the middle of the first hill; I decided I "needed" a quick breather and walked a bit.  I told her she could keep going and to not let me slow her down.  She was gracious enough to tell me I was speeding her up, but seriously, the only reason she was even still on the course was that BROKEN FOOT of hers.  (Otherwise she'd have already finished, showered and had a post race massage!)

As we turned to go up the last hill that led to the finish line, I was about to walk yet again (because I thought I just couldn't make it up that thing)...she grabbed my hand and told me to come on!!  When we got to the top of the hill, and the end was in sight, I showed my thanks by attempting to give her a race for the finish.  But...even with a BROKEN FOOT she held me stride for stride and we crossed over together.  I can't wait to see those finish line shots!

Sarah is a hardcore Rock Star.  I was mentally whimpering over some cramps...I can't imagine the pain she must have been in.  She kept saying she had never hurt that bad at the end of a race, and yet, she powered through it.  How embarrassing... beaten by the girl with the broken foot!!  It could have been worse, she could have been wearing her boot!! 

Congratulations Sarah on a great race.  Now, please take some time off!!  Photos to come.