"Doctor, Doctor, Give me the News..."

So I finally bit the bullet and got my foot looked at yesterday by a foot doctor. I explained the situation to him and the first thing he asked me was, "Do you stretch before running?" My deer-in-the-headlights look immediately told him the answer to that was a resounding "no". I explained that I stretched after running and he said, "Why would you do that!?" I had no good answer for that one either. So, after looking and feeling my ankle he told me I had tendinitis and that I should not do anything for two weeks. He said I should allow time for it to heal so it does not burst. After that time I could start back with low level stuff like swimming and biking. I asked him why I got injured - was it from my shoes, or what and he said..."because you aren't stretching". Duh. That makes total sense. My last 5K was very hilly, chilly weather and I didn't stretch at all. As a matter of fact, I have made it a (bad) habit to bag stretching before running for awhile now. "I don't need to do that," I thought. "That is for newbees". Wrong! So, I have learned my lesson. I will begin incorporating stretching as soon as I can start working out again.

I've decided to have a good attitude about this "time off" and look at the bright side. It is only two weeks. There are 52 weeks in the year so that is only a small portion of time comparatively. At least the tendon is still in good shape. If I hadn't talked to the doctor and instead just pushed through it, I could have really risked having it burst and then the healing would be waaaayyy longer. I also am looking at the positive part of doing alternative activity. Swimming is great exercise and I can bike too. I already found out that LifeCenter opens at 5am so I can get in the pool early before work. So, I have a plan...it is just delayed. I may even do some upper body at home, ab workouts, whatever just to have something to do that doesn't involve my lower body. So that is the update. I WILL be positive about this!!!

So, I won't be competing in a Turkey Trot this year...bummer. What could I do instead??