Confessions of a Hypochondriac

Good Morning, and Happy Friday!

I'm back at my favorite Friday spot - Panera. It's been awhile, but I think they remember me. During my 10 seconds standing in line I considered getting a pumpkin muffin, but decided to save the indulgences for the cruise starting next weekend.

Speaking of pumpkin, I have something a bit odd to share. I saw the idea on Carrots 'n' Cake first, so I can't take the credit. Yet I added a twist on her recipe, and came up with this...

Pumpkin, 1 mashed up banana, some chopped up figs, almond butter, and a dash of both honey and cinnamon. Once warmed up in the microwave, I almost felt like I was eating dessert or maybe a form of baby food?

Either way, it was a quick, easy and delicious breakfast.

Recently I've kind of been putting off the topic of running because I'm not really positive what's going on with my body (surprise, surprise). I do know that I've been having several runs like this:

This was Monday, followed by another 8 miles last night at a 7:30 pace. Cardio-wise, I feel great. And then there's my feet.

About two weeks ago on a 12-miler I got that feeling in my right foot that made me instantly want to throw myself over the side of the bridge I was running over. That stress fracture kind of feeling.

Now, I'm very torn. I've obviously still been running the past two weeks since feeling that all too familiar feeling. It's odd because some runs I feel it, some runs I don't. Most runs I feel great cardio-wise, and tell myself that I simply must be insane.

Even my mom, one of the more cautious people that I know, asked me when I was home,

"Are you sure you aren't just making it up in your head? You are a hypochondriac after all..."

That's a statement that I can't argue. The past year, outside of the real injuries that I've actually had, I've been convinced that I had a torn hamstring, a torn achilles, a torn meniscus, a torn hip flexor, low iron, ulcers, pink eye, a broken toe, depression, gluten intolerance, and dairy intolerance. 

I didn't have any of those things. Can we all take a moment and give my boyfriend an appreciative head nod? Because who do you think I ran to (oftentimes in tears) every single time I self-diagnosed myself? Him.

Felt like I should insert some comedic relief 

Anyways, back to the running a marathon with a possible stress fracture topic. Part of me wants to do it. And I definitely don't want to defer until I know 100% that I can't do it. It may even be too late to defer, I'm too afraid to check the website.

My plan? To set out for 15-18 (close to home) miles tomorrow morning, and listen to my body. See at what point things start hurting, what kind of pain it is, etc. This weekend was suppose to be 22, and then taper. Best case, I hit 20 tomorrow and declare 'It's on' and let the taper begin.

And if it hurts? And that all too familiar stress fracture feeling is screaming at me and I come to the realization that 26 miles on a semi-broken foot is a poor idea? Well, it's not the end of the world. But we can talk more on Sunday once I've figured this stupid foot out.

I'm glad this is out in the open now, I feel like I've been hiding a heavy dark secret for the past two weeks. 

Good luck to my runners this weekend. My roommate is running her first (DC) Ragnar Relay, and I hope she has an absolute blast. I'm off to start my Friday, I even wore a skirt today so I'm feeling extra productive.

I would love feedback from runners on the stress fracture thing. I wouldn't love long-winded lectures on 'being smart'... believe me, I'm not stupid. I've played through torn ligaments and given myself vertebral fractures, the whole nine yards. I'm no stranger to pain and what I should and shouldn't push through, I promise.

Cheers!

K

The State of Kait

Have you guys noticed I haven’t been running much lately? And by very much, I mean hardly at all.

I know my body pretty well after spending 25 years with it. And so when my ‘sore’ foot wouldn’t stop being sore, I took a wild guess that it was a bit more than just a strained muscle.

So I sulked skipped on back to my favorite orthopedic sports doctor and told her what was up. ‘Man the left side of your body sure hates you eh?’ she joked.

Ha.

After some prodding around, a couple x-rays, and a cool wristband, we came to a conclusion.

Turns out my sneaking suspicions were correct. Turns out I have a little bit of a stress fracture in the 5^th metatarsal of my left foot. 

That guy, right there.

When it rains it pours? Nah, I don’t think so. Outside of this little crack I’m dealing with, 2013 has been giving me some stellar vibes so far.  I mean, I won a cruise. The Raven’s won the Superbowl. Maryland just beat Duke, my lifetime arch-nemesis. I’m learning to dance, and swim.

AMEN SISTER

I'll be fine. And if I take care of myself, I should be back on the trail within a couple weeks...

So what’s the plan? Well, no running at all, which is a bit different than when I was recovering from my IT Band crap and could still run a couple miles at a time. 

Zero to super low impact is the key to success this time around.

If I had to guess, I amped up my mileage a bit too fast coming back in January. Lesson learned.  It's always good to learn some lessons.We caught it early so there’s no boot or any of that nonsense. It really only hurts after a period of high impact, or an extended period on my feet. I’m making an effort to wear more supportive shoes for awhile, and to stick these guys in any pair of shoes that I can.

Yoga, swimming, spinning, pool running, weight lifting. Story of my life these next couple weeks. And ya know what? That’s ok. I'd rather this happen now versus September, before my fall marathon.

In the meantime, I signed up for a summer sprint triathlon to cheer myself up, and give myself a little more motivation to hop into that pool that I still kind of hate a little bit.

Trying new things is good, right? 

That's all I've got for today folks, nothing else to see here. Head up, onward.

Cheers!