A crack in the bone

I've been doing quite well with the running this spring.  I was faithful at getting outside and running a few miles 4-5 times per week.  Some days I only went 2 miles, others I ran longer.  And then I'd also go to the Y for strength training and other classes.  I was starting to feel my ab muscles come out of the fridge!  Yea for me!

So then a few weeks ago I decided to run pretty late at night.  I hate running after eating but I really felt like I needed to.  So off I went.  I figured if I started to feel sick, I'd just walk.  No big.  I pushed myself and ran 2 miles, even feeling a little 'off'.  The next morning was a Monday, my day off.  I got up, got the kids ready, and went off to the Y like normal.  I noticed that my right foot hurt a little but figured it was fine, maybe a strained muscle or something.  Later that day I happened to have a doctor's appointment.  By then I had changed out of my tennis shoes and into flip flops.  As I glanced down at my foot, I realized my right foot was super swollen.  Oh crap.  

Off the doctor I went and mentioned that my foot was enormous a tad swollen.  She pushed on a few spots and I almost jumped off the chair.  Not good.  So she sent me for an x-ray.  Working in radiology gets me some perks.  I had the x-ray then walked into the reading room and made the radiologist look at it right away.  The x-ray was normal.  No broken bones.  Then he told me stress fractures don't show up on x-rays right away.  They take a few weeks to show up.  Well, that's just dumb.  I figured I'd wait a few weeks and see how my foot responded to Aleve.  It didn't.  It was still super swollen and painful.  So painful that I had to be put on Vicodin just to get through the day. My doctor felt that seeing a foot surgeon was a good idea.  

So off the foot surgeon I went.  I really thought he's push on my foot and say it was a tendon or muscle issue, get some physical therapy and time.  I was prepared for that.  What I was NOT prepared for was for him to push on a few spots on my foot and announce that I have a stress fracture in 2 places.  As if that wasn't bad enough, I get the pleasure of wearing a boot for the next 6 weeks.  Oh, and no exercising whatsoever.  Shut. The. Front. Door.  I asked him what he meant by "no exercising".  He literally means NOTHING.  No elliptical, no running (well duh), no biking, no classes.  So what can I do?  I can ride a stationery bike at a slow pace or walk slowly.  Are you kidding me?  And the 2 races I'm signed up to do in a few weeks.  Nope.  Not so much.  Oh, and I'm not supposed to drive either.  Joel's response to that?  He's not driving me around like Miss Daisy.  :)  I've gotten around that by taking off the boot to drive.  

The only good thing about the boot?  At least it's not a cast.  :)