I'm benched

By SC -
"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us." 

- Alexander Graham Bell

Yes, I'm benched for a couple of weeks - no running or biking or doing anything that I have to use my ankle and toes. I am allowed to do yoga but have to avoid certain poses like tree pose or other standing poses. I can bike on a recumbent bike (ugh) and swim.

Wahoo! I can still swim...

At the PT (Physical Therapy) visit last week, I explained the symptoms on my left ankle to my PT. She said it should still be a tendonitis but there was a chance that I could have a stress fracture in the ankle. If I did not feel better by the next visit, she said I should have imaging done on the ankle to see if there was a fracture. Well, I did not wait until the next PT visit to find out. I was supposed to pace a friend on her first 100 miler at Burning River in 2 weeks and if I could not do it, I had to tell her as soon as possible.

So, I was trying to get an appointment with my sports doctor but they said I had to wait 2 weeks to see her. WTF? Why did I have to wait 2 weeks to see a doctor about my injury? I asked if I could see another doctor at the same hospital to get in sooner and they insisted that I stayed with the same doctor. The solution? -> Switch the hospital and the doctor. My friend recommended a foot doctor that she regularly goes to. So, I called the doctor's office and got an appointment that afternoon.

I had x-rays done and they said no stress fracture (phew~). The doctor concluded that it was posterior tibial tendonitis, which I kinda expected. She asked what did I do and I said I just ran 100 miles. Well, everyone in the office kinda gave me the "no wonder why your ankle is effed up" look and said "wow, I'm impressed." (but the look on their face did not quite go together with their words).

and I ended up in a boot...




With the sprint triathlon race coming up in August, I could have been frustrated that I won't be able to train for the race. I could have been annoyed and depressed to see all friends running, biking, racing on the weekend. Surprisingly, I felt perfectly calm. Maybe, it's a sign that I physically and mentally needed a break but I could not force myself to break the routine and do nothing. The boot is a reminder that I am not invincible and I should give my ankles and feet a break. 

Anyway, the good news is I can still SWIM!!! and this means it is the time to up my swim game in the triathlon. I had been wanting to swim more this summer but due to the ultramarathons I had less time to swim and bike (only once a week in each discipline). So, my training in the next couple of weeks will be focusing on the swim. yay!

Saturday morning was "weird" without a long run. I woke up and tried to think what I could do on Saturday morning if not running. Ended up watching Disney cartoons and movies. My butt hurt from sitting on a couch for too long. We decided to relax at home this weekend and spend time to reconnect. My husband, P., just came back from a 2-week business trip so it was nice to spend time with him. 

And this is how we "spend time" together LOL 




Sydney (reporting from a 'bench')

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