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.

Five weeks without running!

Five weeks without running... That is NO FUN when you are a runner! I am so thankful to be a triathlete as well. At least if I had to give up running for 5 weeks to heal from a stress fracture in my 2nd metatarsal, I could still swim and bike. In a nutshell, the stress fracture was a result of going up a half size in my new trail runners then switching back to my smaller road shoes. I was just a couple of weeks away from ordering a new pair of Newton road shoes in the larger size. I was absolutely sick when it happened!

My Monday night run on March 28, 2011 was one run too many in the smaller shoes. There I was around mile 3 when I felt something in my foot crack. I shook it out and it just felt like something was out of place. I limped a few steps and the pain subsided. I continued the run and completed just under 6 miles with my friends. I iced the foot immediately when I got home. The next day I couldn't even bear weight on it. I iced my foot and popped Vitamin I (Ibuprophen) throughout the day.

Up to this point, I had never been sidelined from running. That is not to say that I never had aches and pains, just never anything I couldn't train through. I kept thinking the pain would go away and I would be fine for the back to back half marathons I had planned for the weekend and a marathon 5 weeks later. Wrong! On Wednesday I woke up and called The Orthopaedic Center immediately. I explained my situation and they worked me in that day. A bone scan later confirmed a stress fracture and by doctor's orders no running for 5 weeks. I did a lot of research on the best ways to not lose fitness when you can't run. The best solution I found? Aqua Jogging!

Aqua jogging is not just for cute little old ladies anymore kids! Aqua jogging is COOL! Well maybe not cool, but definitely a great way to maintain fitness when you can't pound the pavement. Lucky for me another Dixie Daredevil, Melissa Lee, was willing to log the minutes and hours in the pool with me. Talk about a good friend! My longest aqua jog in the five weeks I was sidelined was two hours. That's a lot of treading water!

On Tuesday I went back to The Orthopaedic Center for my 5 week check up and guess what??? I was cleared to run again!!! For the next two weeks I can run up to 2 miles 3 days per week, after which I can continue to increase my mileage slowly. I went to Fleet Feet ordered my new Newtons immediately! That night I ran the road in my trail runners and felt GREAT! On Thursday night I attended Fleet Feet's Cinco de Mayo fun run and ran another 2 miles. Today is my normal "long run" day, but I have opted to run tomorrow so I can run 2 miles of the bike after my "long ride."

When all was said and done I had to miss a couple half marathons, a full marathon and a Half Ironman in July. The important thing is that my stress fracture is healing well and I should be able to run the sprint triathlons I have scheduled for June, as well as an the Rocketman Olympic Triathlon in late August. I am picking out a fall Half Ironman and am also planning on a late October marathon. I really missed running over the past 5 weeks, but I have had a lot of fun on my new bike as well as cheering on my family and friends at their races! Injuries are never fun, but taking the necessary time off is super important in the long run... pun intended!