Lemonade out of Lemons

Nope, I don't have a lemonade recipe to share, but I thought that title was appropriate for the situation I've found myself in for the last week.

After realizing last week that I have a pretty significant injury to my left foot (I have self-diagnosed it as peroneal insertional tendonitis or possibly a stress fracture in my foot) I have had to take an unwanted break from my previous fitness training schedule.  At this point I don't want to dwell on how or why it happened - for a few days last week I was so miserable, trying to figure out exactly what could have lead to it, analyzing every possible mistake - I just want to accept it as a fact and move on.

It's so disheartening, feeling like one of your goals may be slipping away.  I know I shouldn't feel that way, I keep reminding myself that it's way too early to say I won't be able to run my 8K a month from now.  There is still a chance that my injury won't be as serious as I fear and the doctor will tell me I can get back to running sooner rather than later.  And even if I do have to miss it, I made Brian promise to run it without me so that at least I can cheer him on from the sidelines.  I know there will be other races, the Gasparilla Distance Classic isn't the only one.  There will be many more in my future, whether or not I am back on my feet in time to run this one.  But it still hurts, knowing that on March 4th, I may not be out there running my first race on beautiful Bayshore Boulevard.  

So yeah, last week kinda sucked.  I hated not being able to run do anything physical on my feet.  I hated popping Advil like skittles and icing my foot 3 times a day.  I sulked every time Brian laced up his sneakers and went out for a run, without me.  I literally could feel my ass getting fatter every day I sat still.  The only good part about last week was that Brian, my sweet, dedicated husband, rubbed my foot and calf every single night, despite my crappy attitude and almost constant whining.  That's love.

This week, I've decided that it's time to make some lemonade from what feels like a dump-truck sized pile of lemons at my door.  I am going to focus on some of my other goals besides running for now, until I'm given the OK to start back up again.  I'm going to choose alternative methods of cardio (to prevent ass-amplification).  I'm going to start up a new weight-lifting routine (mostly upper body, for now, since I certainly don't want to worsen my foot injury.  I'm going to adjust my caloric intake to account for my decreased activity level (boo!).   I'm going to finally get that French language program I've been wanting to start.

And most of all, I am going to remind myself daily how lucky I am for all of the other good things in my life, and be grateful for those things.  Because they can be taken away in an instant.  And I am going to keep in mind that no matter what, I will run again.  Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week.  But I will run again.