The First Hurdle

It was a beautiful summer day at the beach in Sydney. Conditions were perfect! After an exhilarating session of body surfing, and a bit of a lie down on the sand, I found myself sprinting from the shore back towards the waves. The uneven sand was hidden beneath the shallow water, and a severe pain shot through my foot as it twisted and collapsed under my weight. Not one to cause a fuss over such matters, I briefly acknowledged the pain, and got on with swimming amongst the waves. Later, I left the water with a stagger and a swollen red foot. Over the next few days my stagger improved to a limp, and eventually to a lengthy stride just short of my full gait.

That was 8 weeks ago, and the niggling pain is still there. Not one to rush things, last week I made it to a doctor, and after subsequent X-rays and an MRI scan, it turns out I have torn cartilage in my foot, and a small bone is trying to become a small floating island.



The doc seems to think I have three options:

1. Surgery - I quickly ruled this out as it means I won't be fit for a long time, and also seems a bit extreme.

2. Put my foot in a boot for 4 weeks, and use crutches to completely protect it. This is a possibility, but it means sacrificing 4 weeks of fitness and training, and my foot is not guaranteed to heal completely in that time.

3. Deal with the pain. Take anti-inflammatory tablets when it gets bad, and get on with it.

I have decided to suck it up, do one week of full training, and make a decision based on how my foot feels during and after that.

It's cutting it fine, but at this stage I'm still focused on a May 1 departure!