I'm going on six weeks in the boot. I recently had a follow-up appointment with my orthopedist, and it wasn't the happy-making experience I thought it would be. I have a tendency to put all of my hope and faith for recovery in one appointment, when really healing is a months-long process, which I've been reluctant to accept. I thought I'd be able to go in to the appointment, convince my doctor of my  self-diagnosed neuroma , and get myself a cortisone shot. But that's not what happened. First, I don't think he was convinced I had a neuroma, but even if he had been, he wouldn't give me the shot. He said it could interfere with the healing of my fracture. Oh yeah,  that . Probably responsible doctoring, but I wasn't satisfied.  He had me get an x-ray to see what we could see. He said everything looked normal (which doesn't mean anything for my fracture), except that I had a sesamoid bone in my second metatarsal head. We all have them naturally emb...

I was going to make this post an update on my foot, and then the weather happened, and suddenly my foot seemed completely insignificant. So I'll make the foot prognosis brief. I met with my orthopedist last week to review my MRI results and plan for recovery. I already knew I had a stress fracture, so I'd prepared a long and detailed list of questions to ask the doctor. The main takeaways are these: I would need to wear my fracture boot again, for two to three months (!) I could not run or walk or use the elliptical or do anything weight bearing, including standing exercises, such as air squats I could, however, continue to swim and even bike, as long as I didn't feel pain or stand on the pedals (as in a spin class or to climb hills--no problem, I live in Florida) Icing would not help, nor would NSAIDs (like ibuprofen), and in fact my doctor said NSAIDs could actually do harm, so I should avoid taking them No type of therapy would help; I just needed to res...

So this no-running thing has its advantages. I went from almost solely running to branching out into other activities I previously ignored because (1) they seemed burdensome (equipment, etc.) and (2) I would have to learn how to do them more efficiently. It was easier to stick to my solo sport--until I had to deal with an injury. After a recent appointment with my favorite orthopedist (only a very injury-prone person gets to claim a "favorite"), Larry Collins, I was convinced I needed to get clip-in pedals and cycling shoes for my bike, and ride "clipless." I don't understand this terminology; it contradicts itself. But whatever. The point is, I need to keep my foot flat, rather than bending it and putting pressure on the ball of my foot, and cycling shoes don't really bend. So despite the expense, I decided it would be a good investment for longterm cross-training. One thing that has always put me off about cycling is the cost of everything--bike aside (w...

In line with last year's  2013 Year in Review , I wanted to do something similar for 2014, but with a separate new year "goals" post to follow.  2014 began on a good note with a marathon PR at the Clearwater Marathon A happy finish with my adorable niece running behind me! and then quickly declined after injuring my foot. I got to wear leggings like every day. After taking six weeks off, I felt recovered enough to run an "easy" Iron Girl half-marathon in April Just happy to have made it through uninjured! and then moved through highs and lows as I began summer training for the Marine Corps Marathon and transitioned to a new job in September, after more than 12 years of working at USF. My good-bye picture as I drove away on my last, sad day. I trained through some still-lingering foot pain for 15 weeks, but in the end, I successfully completed the Marine Corps Marathon in October, exceeding my goal.  ...

I took a little break from the blog while life things happened after the Marine Corps Marathon , but I'm still hitting the pavement. I ran a Turkey Trot 5k with my brother-in-law on Thanksgiving day, Our first race together! (And I have bed-head.) the Brandon Half Marathon two weeks ago, I cut that one a little too close! the Let It Snow 5k for Girls on the Run last weekend, I hijacked this pic of my friend Karen and her running buddy; I'm toward the back with mine. I finally replaced my overly worn shoes with the newest Brooks Ghost (7), At last, I get a wide shoe with good colors! I went back to my bootcamp class this past week after a seven-month hiatus (ouch), It's easy to smile when all the hard work's over! I made a bike change that I've been wanting to do for a while--I sold both my road bike and my cruiser and bought a hybrid (if you ever want to know where NOT to try to sell, ask me), I'm so excited to ride ag...

Actually, I've been humbled by a lot of things lately, but I felt particularly put in my place by my bike ride this evening. I took the road bike out to Flatwoods after work, in my first real effort to do more than the typical 12-mile route I do. I thought this new route, a paved path without the interruption of traffic and surrounded by trees, would be inspiring. And while it was a beautiful setting, I just didn't have a great ride. I can't seem to go much faster than 15mph, and even then other cyclists buzz past me as if I'm barely turning my feet over. My thighs burn constantly, one knee gets tight, and my hands cramp. I know I don't have a lot of power in my legs--it's been pointed out to me more than once, but this was ridiculous. I struggled to just get through 18.66 miles. Meanwhile, a man comes up along side me for some chit-chat and tells me how he's just out for a 38-miler. He asked me what speed I was trying to go, and when I told him 15, he pre...

Last week was a fairly strong week, except that I really started to feel persistent pain in my left lower leg, mostly in my shin (anterior and posterior) and high Achilles. If felt the worst of it Thursday, when I attempted a 5-miler but instead cut it short to 3. I wanted to preserve my legs for my 17-mile long run on Saturday. I'm sure it didn't help that we did tons of sprints at CrossBoot on Wednesday night. I've been so proud of myself for making it out to two CrossBoot classes per week, but I'm afraid my legs are just not handling the speed drills very well, on top of my long training runs. Monday I ran 4 miles before CrossBoot, because I didn't wake up in time to do it in the morning. This was my first run since the previous Saturday's 20-miler, and I really felt the pain in my leg. Then we had a rather leg-heavy CrossBoot class, but I didn't feel much pain during or after the class. On Tuesday I ran with a couple of buddies in the evening....

In the past couple of months I've added some new things to my fitness regimen that I hope will help get me through a summer of marathon training. While I have biked casually over years on my cruiser, I recently bought a true road bike that is taking my cycling to a whole new level--ready or not! Additionally, I've attended several hot yoga classes, which I was previously against, but my mind (and my practice, literally) is opening up to it. My bike, a women's Specialized Doce Elite, sat in my home for a month before I took her out. I did get her fitted for my body and comfort right away, and for free, thanks to the good folks at the USF bike "shop ." But once the time came to actually ride, I felt like I had no clue what I was doing. Even though my hair stylist (from whom I bought the bike) went over more operating and safety information than my brain could possibly retain, road bikes are so much more complex than cruisers. The gears, the tires, the brake...