Went to Dr. Van Boerum today at TOSH. First of all, I'm glad I have access to a place like TOSH - the doctors, staff, etc. are great. New set of x-rays. This time weight bearing x-rays to show what's really going on in there. Dr. says that this is an Avulsion fracture of the 5th metatarsal. Don't need surgery and he says that 1 in 30 cases actually do need surgery. He says the bone is lined up well to heal and there's plenty of blood supply to make it happen. So why am I so bummed? Well, I am sentenced to the boot/cast for "at least" 8 weeks. Wait, it gets worse...swimming in 3-4 weeks with pull buoy only (no kicking), cycling (stationary NOT out on the road) in 4-6 weeks and running...12 weeks. Sun-uv-a! Going to Oceanside and Disneyland with the kids in a boot should be lots of fun. Doc said "no" to hiking in the Wind Rivers anytime within the next 90 days so that trip is pretty much out for me.
The objective is clear: follow doctor's orders. "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" In addition I will be significantly ratcheting back my food intake (already have). Goal would be to come out of this with <5 pounds of weight gain - that can be done. I've sworn I won't go to the gym and do that stupid hand cycle thing. $50 says I'm there doing it tomorrow morning. I'll go in an lift a few weights to at least stimulate my heart and mind a bit. But for now, I am a sedentary couch potato.
Short-term goal is to swim in 3-4 weeks with pull buoy.
Follow-up with Dr. Van Boerum on July 27th (5 weeks post injury).
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A Letter To The President
In a feeble attempt to do another Ironman this year to makeup for missing Coeur d' Alene, I wrote a letter to the new President and CEO of World Triathlon Corporation, Andrew Messick. I say feeble because WTC is worse than the government when it comes to exceptions or any type of special consideration. Messick has the reputation of being an "Average Joe", an Ironman finisher himself and someone who cares about the everyday athlete. I all but begged Messick to let me into Ironman Arizona in November. I'd be more than happy to pay the $$$ entry fee to do it. I sent the letter snail mail style and hope that he visits their headquarters in Tampa, Florida from time to time to pick up his mail.
Hitting The Reset Button
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Today is Ironman Coeur d’ Alene. As I write this, my friends Kevin Parry and Colter Hammer are about halfway through the bike leg of the event. I’m sitting at home with a broken left foot. On Thursday morning I went out for a short “shake out” run. Bags were packed and we were ready to head to Coeur d’ Alene. About 20 minutes into a 30 minute run I stepped on a medium-sized rock on the asphalt, turned my left foot to the outside and broke my 5th metatarsal. I have what is called an Avulsion fracture...but I didn’t know it at the time. I limped home and knew in my heart that this was going to significantly impact my race on Sunday - I had no idea it would require me to not start at all.
We got the car packed, picked up Kevin and Jenn Parry and headed north. I iced my foot while Jenny drove. All along I was thinking I needed to get an x-ray to see what was wrong. My foot got more and more swollen and bruised.
We stopped in Missoula, MT and I got an x-ray at the ER there. The bad news became a reality. An Avulsion fracture. I saw it for myself and there was no mistaking it. The ER doctor said to not do the race as it would likely make things worse. Jenny and I made the excruciating decision to turn around and come home. Kevin and Jenn carried on to Coeur d’ Alene.
I can’t begin to describe the emotional and mental torture this is causing me. I have been over all of the “what if” scenarios a thousand times. It’s aggravating to say the least. The work, the preparation, time and money that has gone into preparing for the Ironman is unfathomable by most people. I have never been fitter, lighter, more aerodynamic on my bike, smarter about race execution and faster in the five years I have been doing long course triathlon.
Jenny was in tears when we were in Missoula at the ER. I was in a state of shock. It didn't hit me until we actually turned the car around and headed home. Jenny is my biggest supporter and none of what I do would be possible without her.
I don’t know what I am supposed to learn from this. I am sure there will be some things I will learn. For example, all of the little details that Ironman triathletes obsess about pale in comparison to something like this. It might help me gain some perspective. Patience, determination, resolve, etc - those are words I’ve thought about quite a bit. My good friend Chad said it best when he said, “God didn’t put that rock in your way but he also didn’t move it out of your path”. And Chad said, “Bad things happen to good people”.
Upon arriving home I have made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon at TOSH. I see him on Wednesday. At present, the opinion of several ortho docs (who are also Ironman triathletes) is mixed. One says surgery for sure, the other says this will heal in 3-4 weeks time no problem. Either way I think I am out of the game for a couple of months. So I’m on crutches, with a cast/boot that the ER gave to me and I’m hobbling around the house. A great way to spend the summer.
Some will say things like “well, this is good because you will be able to rest, do XYZ, etc”. To me, that’s just a manufactured way to make someone feel better about a really, really bad thing that has happened. There is no good that can come of this that I can rationally and honestly see. After the Ironman I had planned to rest, spend more time with my kids (which is in jeopardy because I can’t walk), dedicate more focus and attention to work and do a mental decompression from triathlon. All of that would happen in a healthy, natural way after a big event. Instead, because of this injury, I will have to focus an undue amount of attention on medical issues, rehabilitation, therapy and strengthening to get back on track. None of that is worth anything to my family. None of that is worth anything to progressing in triathlon.
Having said all of these negative things I do believe in a higher power and believe that through faith in God and through his blessings I can be healed and made well again. I believe there is an end to this and that I can press forward and be back doing what I love to do. The only question is time.
The only way to describe this is it’s like the “Reset Button” has been pressed. I am literally starting over. My body, especially my left leg will be significantly affected from a fitness perspective. I believe I can rebuild that fitness quickly but doing so will come with it’s own series of setbacks. What I mean is a rebuild process is not going to be just progressing swimming, biking and running on a perfect trajectory - there will be micro-injuries and issues to deal with to get back to full capacity.
As for what I am missing out on today in Coeur d’ Alene, I’m missing the reward. I did all the work and got the shaft. The actual event is the fun. It’s the time to celebrate. I expect that whatever time Kevin Parry clocks I would have been within 15 mins (plus or minus) from him. And that likely would have been a big PR for me. Most of all I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to try out my new run fitness. The training I did and plan I followed put me in a good position to have a strong run. I won’t find out until next year.
I plan to post updates here on this blog in the coming weeks and months to detail my return to training and competition. I love the sport of triathlon and love Ironman. I’ve been beat down pretty hard in the past few days but I intend to fight back. It will not be easy and I expect disappointments along the way. But I will treat it like any other obstacle that I’ve been thrown and pragmatically attack the problem with great determination and resolve.
Today is Ironman Coeur d’ Alene. As I write this, my friends Kevin Parry and Colter Hammer are about halfway through the bike leg of the event. I’m sitting at home with a broken left foot. On Thursday morning I went out for a short “shake out” run. Bags were packed and we were ready to head to Coeur d’ Alene. About 20 minutes into a 30 minute run I stepped on a medium-sized rock on the asphalt, turned my left foot to the outside and broke my 5th metatarsal. I have what is called an Avulsion fracture...but I didn’t know it at the time. I limped home and knew in my heart that this was going to significantly impact my race on Sunday - I had no idea it would require me to not start at all.
We got the car packed, picked up Kevin and Jenn Parry and headed north. I iced my foot while Jenny drove. All along I was thinking I needed to get an x-ray to see what was wrong. My foot got more and more swollen and bruised.
We stopped in Missoula, MT and I got an x-ray at the ER there. The bad news became a reality. An Avulsion fracture. I saw it for myself and there was no mistaking it. The ER doctor said to not do the race as it would likely make things worse. Jenny and I made the excruciating decision to turn around and come home. Kevin and Jenn carried on to Coeur d’ Alene.
I can’t begin to describe the emotional and mental torture this is causing me. I have been over all of the “what if” scenarios a thousand times. It’s aggravating to say the least. The work, the preparation, time and money that has gone into preparing for the Ironman is unfathomable by most people. I have never been fitter, lighter, more aerodynamic on my bike, smarter about race execution and faster in the five years I have been doing long course triathlon.
Jenny was in tears when we were in Missoula at the ER. I was in a state of shock. It didn't hit me until we actually turned the car around and headed home. Jenny is my biggest supporter and none of what I do would be possible without her.
I don’t know what I am supposed to learn from this. I am sure there will be some things I will learn. For example, all of the little details that Ironman triathletes obsess about pale in comparison to something like this. It might help me gain some perspective. Patience, determination, resolve, etc - those are words I’ve thought about quite a bit. My good friend Chad said it best when he said, “God didn’t put that rock in your way but he also didn’t move it out of your path”. And Chad said, “Bad things happen to good people”.
Upon arriving home I have made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon at TOSH. I see him on Wednesday. At present, the opinion of several ortho docs (who are also Ironman triathletes) is mixed. One says surgery for sure, the other says this will heal in 3-4 weeks time no problem. Either way I think I am out of the game for a couple of months. So I’m on crutches, with a cast/boot that the ER gave to me and I’m hobbling around the house. A great way to spend the summer.
Some will say things like “well, this is good because you will be able to rest, do XYZ, etc”. To me, that’s just a manufactured way to make someone feel better about a really, really bad thing that has happened. There is no good that can come of this that I can rationally and honestly see. After the Ironman I had planned to rest, spend more time with my kids (which is in jeopardy because I can’t walk), dedicate more focus and attention to work and do a mental decompression from triathlon. All of that would happen in a healthy, natural way after a big event. Instead, because of this injury, I will have to focus an undue amount of attention on medical issues, rehabilitation, therapy and strengthening to get back on track. None of that is worth anything to my family. None of that is worth anything to progressing in triathlon.
Having said all of these negative things I do believe in a higher power and believe that through faith in God and through his blessings I can be healed and made well again. I believe there is an end to this and that I can press forward and be back doing what I love to do. The only question is time.
The only way to describe this is it’s like the “Reset Button” has been pressed. I am literally starting over. My body, especially my left leg will be significantly affected from a fitness perspective. I believe I can rebuild that fitness quickly but doing so will come with it’s own series of setbacks. What I mean is a rebuild process is not going to be just progressing swimming, biking and running on a perfect trajectory - there will be micro-injuries and issues to deal with to get back to full capacity.
As for what I am missing out on today in Coeur d’ Alene, I’m missing the reward. I did all the work and got the shaft. The actual event is the fun. It’s the time to celebrate. I expect that whatever time Kevin Parry clocks I would have been within 15 mins (plus or minus) from him. And that likely would have been a big PR for me. Most of all I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to try out my new run fitness. The training I did and plan I followed put me in a good position to have a strong run. I won’t find out until next year.
I plan to post updates here on this blog in the coming weeks and months to detail my return to training and competition. I love the sport of triathlon and love Ironman. I’ve been beat down pretty hard in the past few days but I intend to fight back. It will not be easy and I expect disappointments along the way. But I will treat it like any other obstacle that I’ve been thrown and pragmatically attack the problem with great determination and resolve.
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