HOLD THE VISION, TRUST THE PROCESS.

---

If you're new here, hey! Welcome to this little blog of mine :) I've had this for a while now and use my blog as an outlet whenever I have some time on my hands and the urge to get all my thoughts out in writing.

So after nearly a year of inactivity on this account, what brings me back?

Well for starters, yesterday my plans for racing anytime soon for the indoor track season were diminished due to a middle cuneiform stress fracture. Which means that for the duration of these next 6 weeks, as per my doctor's orders, I will be in a boot and unable to do any form of cardio training besides swimming to fully heal my foot.

Before I dive further into my thoughts, I want to add that I know injuries are unfortunatly common for runners I am grateful for how lucky I've been up to this point by experiencing minimal running setbacks like this one. BUT here I am with my first (and hopefully last) stress fracture, and I primarily want to let others know that if you are also going through an obstacle right now, no matter how big or small, you are not alone! I also hope this can be a reminder for everyone that progress is never linear and the ups and downs are all a normal part of the process. Because through every "down" is an "up" on its way if we keep working for it. I promise!

To provide a little rundown of what I've been dealing with here, let's take it back to about mid-way through this past cross country season when I hit my first 60 mile week of running ever. My buildup to that point was slow and steady, and I ran the cross country race of my life at Paul Short early-October, PRing in the 6k and finally breaking the 22 minute barrier which I was ecstatic about.

On the other hand, it was also around that time in which I began to experience on and off foot irritation on the mid-top of my foot which I sweeped under the rug...until the pain came "on" as soon as I spiked up for our conference championship meet at the end of October. I ran the race, crossed the finishline, layed down for a bit from exhaustion, and as I stood up it was like a 100 pound brick had just been dropped on the top of my foot. After hobbling back over to our team tent, I knew something was wrong but still attempted to cooldown, probably looking somewhat comparable to a baby giraffe learning to walk for the first time (in other words, not very graceful!).

The following day was a no brainer hopping on the bike instead of running. The foot pain was pretty debilitating at first, but decreased the more time off running I took..... until a track workout I did three days later. Long story short, the next couple of weeks that came leading up to Regionals became an exhausting routine of cross training, difficult limping walks to class (in which no amount of ibu profin was helping), and unfinished running workouts because any amount of running would send shooting pains through the top of my foot.

When the week of Regionals rolled around early-November, I got in for a foot doctor appointment and was diagnosed with a stress reaction. Shocker!

Pictured: Strava post the day I got diagnosed with a stress reaction and put in a boot for the first time, thinking it was all fun and games. Didn't age well...

The doctor gave me a boot to wear and while that provided me with the relief to walk to class without pain, running that one last race of the season was (somehow?) still on the table. In hindsight, I can see how if pain persists enough to end up in a boot, it wouldn't make sense to run. But at that point in time I figured I would just send it since it was literally the last race of the season. Plus, any motivated runner knows how difficult it is to make the decision to take a step away from competing when all you want to do is be there on the starting line to compete with your team. The idea was if I could get through that last race of the season, I would be able to take a full rest week in the boot and then cross train until the pain went away. So after the race, a rest week, and then weeks of cross training, when I attempted to get back into running a few times (even though I felt okay enough to walk without limping) the pain and irritation returned after each run. As frustrating as this has been, something I have recently learned is that with any sort of running injury, just because the pain is minimized or seemingly gone after a little time off of running doesn't mean it can't still come back if that time off wasn't enough. And with anything that presents itself as a stress reaction or fracture especially, the other thing I have learned is it's better to play it safe than sorry because bone injuries need to be fully rested for a few weeks at least in order to heal.

That brings us to last week, when my MRI came back showing a middle cuneiform fracture on the top of my foot where the pain has resided during these last few months. I am no foot doctor so this is only my personal plan of action, but based on my doctor's orders for the next 6 weeks I will be booted up to walk and will no longer be able to bike or elliptical like I have been doing, as it still puts pressure on my fractured mid foot area.

When I got an MRI hoping to rule out any serious injury (hoping the pain was just some random flare-up that would go away soon), it was devastating to find out how much more serious it is and how much time without running this injury means. And while it's good to have answers, no longer being able to bike or elliptical is definitely the cherry on top for the bad news.

As I'm feeling all the feels at this present moment, I feel like I can wake up and choose to look at this situation in one of two ways each day:

1. I can dwell on the fact that I can't run right now and it sucks

OR

2. I can choose to go beast mode in the swimming pool or whatever I can do, prioritize rest and recovery, keep fueling the fire, take the lessons I've learned through this injury to grow, get in great upper body lifts, build up my mental toughness, cheer on my speedy teammates at track meets even if I can't race in them yet, and focus on all the goals I have set to achieve when I am running healthy again!!!

And you know what? Sometimes I might feel that first option much more, where I can't run and it simply sucks. And that's OK. We are letting ourselves feel all the feels in a healthy way. However I am making it my goal to wake up every day with the purpose of taking that second perspective as much as I can, and if you are in the same boat as me, I hope you choose that second option too.

These last couple months of primarily cross training have been tough and it leaves me missing sport that for the past 5+ years has filled my days with excitement, purpose and freedom like no other. But as you guys know, I like to look at the bright side of things when I can, and in this case I keep reminding myself that running doesn't define me as a person, so neither will an injury. Dedication, hardwork, grit, resilience, chasing after goals, forming bonds with the amazing people who are a part of this sport are just a few of the things I value in myself as a runner, and those values are just as important through injury and life in general! As frustrating as these next 6 weeks of training will be, it's temporary and there is always a way to be a little better each day. In the end I know I will hold the same love and appreciation for running when I can get back to it because this is temporary and that time will come <3 Holding the vision and trusting the process.

XX,

Adele