The auto accident I got in last year caused a massive amount of scar tissue in my calf and ankle. This tightened ligaments in the foot which caused an eventual tear. I did not take care of my body as much as I should have with the amount of training. It eventually decided to give out and I tore a ligament in my foot. It is not a major ligament and with rest I hope to be back racing and training in the fall.
The constant foot pain started in May after the Cary Du. I was in a pretty serious training block that tore my body apart. I fought through the pain for a couple weeks until I finally crumbled and saw a local podiatrist. He recommended taking a full two weeks off to recover. He thought that there was a torn ligament at this point. So, I begrudgingly listened to the doctor and took two full weeks off from training. The pain subsided but did not fully go away. The two weeks ended so I picked training back up... even with the pain.
The training started to pick back up in preparation for the National Championship. I battled through tough workouts leaving me hunched over in pain. I mentioned stuff to my coach here and there but figured it would get better. I went to a second doctor for his opinion. He thought it was just some scar tissue build up. He gave me some mobility work and said he would see me in a couple weeks. I followed the mobility plan to a 'T' but alas it did not solve my problem... I returned to the doctor after my win at Sylvania because of no improvement. He took some pictures of my bones and determined that it was most likely a torn ligament. Two doctors and one diagnosis. He prescribed me a carbon insole and to continue training if I could. Well... it took awhile to get the insole and in the mean time I taped my foot up for training. The tape only holds for a couple miles though. After that it is just consistent damage to the injured foot. This past weekend I had a big training block which destroyed my foot to a point of no return. My coach, Scott Proscia of IREP Athletics, and I made the tough decision to remove the aggravation and try to recover. This means that there will most likely not be a National Championship for me this year. I need to focus on recovery so I can come back strong next year.
This will definitely not be my last blog post for the year though! I will continue to update everybody on my recovery and training plan. I still hope for exciting things to come!
Remember to stay positive and roll with the punches.
Until next time
Stay Strong, Stay Determined
