Setback or Blessing in Disguise?

Ah, baseball season! It's nearly over for my boys. I'll truly miss it, as I always do. Snapped this photo of Kyle's first at bat tonight. Many years ago when I tried to imagine what my kids would be like I had visions just like this photo in my head. Life is good.

Last Sunday I completed the peak run of my training cycle. Not much to say about the run itself. It was hot and sunny. I enjoyed the challenge. It took me 2-hours and 40-minutes to finish.

My feet hurt pretty badly afterwards, most likely because I had done most of my long runs on soft trails but this one on hard and hilly pavement. As Father's Day wore on I noticed I wasn't enjoying standing up a whole lot. My right foot just wasn't recovering. As I got into bed that night I noticed the foot was discolored.

Worsened pain on Monday had me playing amateur sports medicine man. I Googled "stress fractures" and saw photos and read symptoms way too similar to what I was experiencing. Six weeks of recovery with the potential for surgery - Yikes! For 24-hours I fought the temptation to wallow in self-pity, imagining the race going on without me. Some of those around me had to fight getting sucked into my vortex of negativity!

It's Thursday now and the pain is almost gone. I was able to swim on Tuesday and Wednesday. This morning I went on a group ride and felt fine. I think I'm almost out of the woods.

Those preparing for Ironman right now are all walking this fine line. My experience is not unique. Nearly 30-weeks into my training cycle, my body and mind waver between incredible fitness/toughness and total collapse. This was a good wake-up call, with limited training impact, to remind me that I'm not invincible. I need to concentrate on being rested for my most important sessions. Mind-body awareness is now absolutely essential. I'm almost there. The work is almost done.