Week 24: Temporarily Out of Order

I've done it.

I've acquired my very first running injury since removing my traditional running shoes 3 years ago....

....an "unconfirmed" stress fracture in my first metatarsal....

By "unconfirmed" I mean:  negative x-ray and 2nd physician still a bit curious about why I am experiencing pain ONLY when I have weight on that part of my foot AND I am rolling off of it....but no swelling, bruising, pain when wiggling my toes, or pressing on bones.

No matter....the prescribed treatment is

REST.

and

IMMOBILIZATION.

ICK!!!

YUCK!!!!

*&$%#!!!!


So, how did I get myself into this quandary????

The Mantua Potato Stomp......a 9 mile race that we did last Saturday......that's how.

The race description promised "9 miles of paved, rolling roads in the country"....what the description failed to mention that 1 of those miles was a broken-asphalt road that was more like a deep-woods trail....dirt and rocks.  What it also failed to mention was that 5 of those "9 paved miles" were chip seal.....NOT asphalt.  For those who don't know what chip seal is, I have included a picture so you can see a little bit of the difference between the texture of the two:

Asphalt is much smoother.....heaven to the soles of my feet.....I see rainbows and hear angels singing when I am shuffling on asphalt.


Chip seal is rough...torturous...tiny sharp rocks stuck in a bed of tar...the driveway to Satan's house... Evil.

I wore my Aqua Socks on this part of the race, but they did little to dull the pain of the terrain.
Needless to say....I could not hold my "Olympic-quality shuffling form" through several miles of that hellish material....and at mile 7, I knew that I had done some damage to the bone just south of my big toe.

This was the first race I have ever done that I considered leaving it before I finished....and had I been somewhere other than in the middle of nowhere (you know....like a civilized society who uses asphalt to pave their roads), I would have.  But....I HAD to get to the end....or I'd be stranded out there for coyotes to pick my bones when the sun went down!!

It was about survival!!!  

(Ok....so maybe a little stubborness too.....)

So, here I am...a week later....
out for the count....
having technical difficulties.....
out of order.

And really, really antsy to get out on the road again!!

I have never before had an issue with going one week without shuffling, but knowing that I have at least 2 more weeks of "rest and immobilization" when we have our half marathon coming up in October (only 4 weeks away!) really makes me stir crazy!!!

I am losing hope that I will be participating in this upcoming half.....

I have also been extremely busy and stressed these past couple weeks.  Not having the ability to shuffle and expel the stress through my pores is giving me a wicked case of acne that would put a 15 year old to shame!!

I am not a happy camper.....

I am extremely off-balance.....(both literally and emotionally ;)  )

My eating habits are being taken over by those demons of mine....plenty of junk, sugar and salt.  I am doing lots of "sitting and eating".....

I've got to get a grip and find some balance while I am "resting" this injury.

I suck at resting.

(sigh)