Friday, May 22, 2009

These Are The Breaks

Okay, so you may have noticed (or maybe not) that I've been MIA for over a week. I took some time off from training, mostly so I could wallow in my self pity that's been brewing for some time now. But I can also justify my 7 day hiatus with the fact that last week I had a sinus infection, accompanied by some wretched allergies. It was also "down week" with my work out classes here at work, meaning it was the week off between the 8 week sessions. So, with feeling crappy, having no classes available, and not being able to run while waiting to see the orthopedic surgeon, it all equated in me not working out for a week. After the Mother's Day 5K, I realized I had worked out every day for a week straight and needed a day of rest. Well....that day turned into 7. But I returned to my regimine (sort of) on Monday of this week.

Let me start off by saying that I have not gone 7 days in a row without training/working out in some manner since I was on maternity leave after having Harper and was not yet released by my doctor to work out. Yes, I've taken a few days off for being sick or whatever, but not a full week. That's just not me. But I've been down, stressed, concerned about injury, and, well, just not myself lately.

Last week I finally saw the ortho about my left leg. He took x-rays, which turned out fine, and then we discussed my injury. He said it sounded like your typical text-book description of a stress fracture and referred me to get an MRI (this past Monday). I finally got the results this morning and that dreaded call confirmed what I've been fearing for weeks: I DO, in fact, have a stress fracture in my left fibula.

What does this mean? Well, it means that the olympic tri that I have been training for all year is a no-go. It means a walking cast for the next 6 weeks. It means no running, or even biking, for the next 6 weeks. It means that I ran a half marathon with a stress fracture...and then 3 more races the following 3 weekends in a row, with a stress fracture. It means that everything that I have been working for this year is on hold. And yes, I do realize there will be other races. I realize that I need to take care of myself so that I can heal properly and so I don't re-injure myself. I realize it's not the end of the world and I realize that things could be a lot worse. But for right now, in this very moment, I am devastated. I feel like my dreams just got yanked out from under me. I'm disappointed and upset, and not a whole lot is going to cheer me up right now.

In addition, this means that I will be transferring my event, and the next olympic tri that our local chapter of Team in Training is doing is the Nations Triathlon in DC in September. The one I was supposed to do is in Des Moines in June. Des Moines is just a few hours away. Soooo...this means more fundraising since it will cost a whole lot more to FLY to DC than to drive to Des Moines. I'll have to ship my bike and everything. It means that I won't get to do the Hy-Vee Tri with my team that I have trained with for the past several months. Instead, I'll be doing it with a new team. AND......since it is so far away, I won't have my family there to cheer me on. We can't afford for Randy and the girls to fly to DC for this. My mom, dad, and sister can't afford to either. Even all of Randy's family was going to go to Des Moines to support me. Now, I won't have a single familiar face in the crowd cheering me on.

Everything about this right now sucks. Yes, I know that I will move on. And yes, I know that these things happen. But it doesn't make me feel any better.

In the meantime.....just hitting the pool as much as I can. I need to maintain my fitness level so I can do Nations in September with full force. Oh yeah, this also means that I won't be doing the Redman Half Ironman in September either....

I'm pretty blue. But like I said, these are the breaks. And in this case, literally.

14 comments:

sneakersister said...

Ack! My comment was lost!

I am so sorry to hear that you have a stress fracture. Trust me when I tell you I know exactly how you feel. Been there, done that. I was diagnosed with a tibial stress fracture last year half-way through my marathon training. It was truly devastating.

One piece of advice that I can offer is to try the best you can to maintain some semblance of fitness. I did not do that and it took me a good 4 months to get back to the beginnings of being in shape to start training.

Rest up, wallow, enjoy the non-structure and take care of yourself.

IzzyBubbles said...

Oh no!! I'm so sorry Ashley, so sorry this had to happen right now. I know how devasted you must be. And I feel terrible you can't do your events and that you won't have your family there when you do your tri in DC. Wow. I really wish I could do something to cheer you up, but I know that you're right - there isn't anything anyone can say to you right now that's going to really cheer you up.

Rest up, take care of yourself, and talk to Beka about what to do while you're resting the leg, she's a pro.

Carolina John said...

that's horrible ashley! These things take time to heal, so just give it time. you'll be back out there tri-ing before you know it.

check out a book called "tri power" on amazon. i was battling something that might (or might not be) a stress fracture through the spring. I got on the tri power program and by strengthening my core it healed the leg right up. now i'm running with no pain (there). It could really help once you get back on your feet.

Dancing Sweet Pea said...

Oh gosh Ashley, I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis! I can't imagine how disappointed you feel right now. I wish I was there to come and take you for a BIG drink! :) Not that will solve your disappointment, but it would be FUN!
I hope things start to look up for you soon and that most importantly you start to feel better! Take care sweetie!

Dancing Sweet Pea said...

PS: I definitely noticed you weren't around and am glad to see you're back! :)

Dancing Sweet Pea said...

I got your email address Ashley! Thanks a bunch! I'll definitely email you soon! Mine is erinfawcett_22@hotmail.com.
I added you to Facebook too! :) :) Have a great weekend!

Tyler Larsen said...

hang in there...I SO feel your pain. I just got word I have a stress fracture in my left foot. I went running Saturday before Mothers Day, then ended up in urgent care on M.D. leaving on crutches. I feel every word you write! I'm having running with drawls and realize now how much running was MY thing...and time away from chaos and family.

Thanks for sharing your rants. It's nice that another runner "gets" it...because family and friends are like..."whats' the big deal?"

RunToTheFinish said...

ohh so sorry to hear that!! you're right it just plain sucks. I have all kinds of positive things I could say, but some days those just aren't the words you need... so it's far to say it sucks. My guess is in a nother few days you'll have figured out something to work around it and be excited about the new adventure

teacherwoman said...

Oh hun. I am so sorry to hear about the stress fracture. That sucks big time. I hope the time away from training will go by fast, as well as the healing. Keep us posted! We are here!

Being Robinson said...

I tried to comment from home this weekend and my silly mac wouldn't let me. I just want to say I'm SOOO sorry, but I totally feel your pain. I have been there, being injured, missing out on a big race, changing plans.... being miserable because of it all! It's okay to feel miserable. Just hang in there, it will get better! Heart you :)

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear about the stress fracture. One thing to be sure and do during this downtime is re-evaluate your training to this point. Stress fractures happen for a reason - they are not random. Somehow in your training you overloaded it through too much of distance, speed or both too quickly. I say this because I went through a series of recurring injuries for years before I realized what was happening and restructured my training. The result is that I'm at my highest mileage in years and have not pain at all. Use this time to your advantage and I'm betting you will be a much stronger athlete for it.

Mel-2nd Chances said...

oh no..... i'm so sorry you're going through this, and you're right, it totally sucks. I know that there is not much that can help cheer you up right now and that hearing others tell you to rest, take time to heal, etc isn't what you need to hear.. because i'm going through it too. I missed out on races last year due to stress fractures, and am missing out on one this weekend too... so I 'get it'. Feel free to email me anytime if you need to vent. Hugs

AMC said...

Awww sweetie, I'm so sorry. But look at the bright side, there are solutions to everything and you can rest and take care of yourself and get back on the road to racing when your body is ready.

Love you, hang in there.

kilax said...

I'm so sorry. I hope you have a speedy recovery!