Recovery

Two weeks ago I suffered a fractured metatarsal. It's linked to the toes; when you picture a skeletal view of the foot, it's one of the long bones that goes the length of the foot. I don't exactly know the cause, but can take a good guess. At the time I was running in my minimalist, Vibram FiveFingers, mostly on pavement but transitioned to section over gravel. At some point I noticed my foot was hurting ALOT. Not enough that I couldn't stop running, since I only had about 1.5 miles to go. The rest of the day I stayed off it (trying to be smart, but also because it just hurt a lot), hoping it'd feel fine the next morning for my long run. It did not. Being restless, I went that Sunday morning for x-rays which diagnosed a fracture. The treatment? Four to six weeks of NO RUNNING. I was devastated. Seeing an orthpaedist the following day reaffirmed the hospital's diagnosis and treatment, putting me in a hard-soled boot to wear around. This meant no competing the May 14th Half Ironman at White Lake.

A follow-up this past Friday was hopeful. The doctor said the healing looked better than most do at this stage; I should be able to be in a hard-sole SHOE in another two weeks. He also said I could start getting in the pool (though I had already been going that whole week, after being off completely the previous week) and biking (since the shoes are... HARD-SOLED). Biking again yesterday, it felt good to sweat again.

I still went down to White Lake for the half on Saturday and the spring the following day. Originally I was against going; it would've just made me miserable. However, I decided it was more important to support my friends in both races. Besides, I at least went in for the swim portion; just to get my money's worth.

I predicted my misery correctly. However, I was overwhelming excited of Elaine and Stephen would completed the half Ironman, a first at that distance for both of them. And for Meredith who did the sprint, her first triathlon EVER and at FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT!

Frustratingly, it's making me ponder finding another race for the fall. As before, I was ready to move past doing triathlons, realizing that I wasn't particularly fond of the bike and wasn't really prepared to invest the necessary time and funds. However, having missed my race, there was certain feeling of unfinished business. I'm still not sure what I'll do, especially until I can definitively know when I'm back on the road.

I have signed up for a 1 mile swim next weekend at Falls Lake. Should be fun.