This training cycle has not been kind to me in terms of finding motivation to chase a PR that I’m not even really sure matters to me much anymore. But all that ruminating has been overshadowed by more recent news:

I am injured.

I didn’t have any symptoms leading up to the injury last week that would have predicted it, and no moment where I “did something” to cause such an injury. There was a moment that I felt something tight in my ankle and by the end of a three-mile loop in the woods, I was hobbling back to my car completely unable to run (and nearly unable to walk). Nonetheless, I now have an Achilles tendon injury and I am unable to run.

So, not only is my goal to PR my half marathon out the window, it’s unlikely that I’ll even be able to run at all a month from now by race day. Considering I haven’t even got a 10-mile long run in, running a half marathon in four weeks is not possible. I’ve been taking it easy with an overdose of rest that is making me crazy and I also started going to PT to try to figure out how it happened (and prevent any issues in the future).

The activities that I have been doing over the last few months – running and boxing and yoga – were offering me a lot of healthy balance, and I was feeling really good (even doing core workouts several times a week). But I can’t do any of these activities right now. I recently started playing tennis with my husband on the weekends, which I also cannot do. Looking forward to golf season starting next month? Well, looks like I’ll be driving the cart!

I’m trying my best not to be so fatalist, and I am not naive to the severity of the injury and its ability to render me inactive for the next 6-8 weeks. Inactivity is NOT good for me. I’m exploring my options at joining a local gym again solely for access to pool, weight room, and stationary bikes. Because apparently that’s all I can do for now. My active recovery has always been yoga and that is not recommended at this point.

I have races coming up in summer, which I hope to be back in shape for – though it’s difficult to think about right now when my mobility just for walking is strained (the pain of the injury, thankfully, has greatly subsided over the last week). In any event, send me your good healing vibes for a speedy recovery!

In the meantime, I’ll be making some new goals and writing more regularly over at my new blog: Heartland Transplant.