The Start of the Longest Four Weeks Ever

I think the orthopedist could see the panic on my face. 

"OK. So I can be good until Sunday. But when can I go back to barre? When can I start running again? Is it OK to swim?"

"You can go swim today, if you want," he said. "But the rest..."

Four weeks. Four weeks with no cardio that wasn't swimming. I could do the race, but then I was benched. 

That was when I think the panic became obvious. 

The idea of no cardio for a month was horrible. I can only get into the pool a few times a week. So that would leave at least three days with nothing -- and even that was dependent entirely on if there was even lane space. After all, I took up running because I couldn't get lane space. 

I actively avoid trying to take rest days. I'll skip maybe once or twice a week, if I have a literal schedule conflict or if I've logged my mileage in normal activity, but I don't really take rest days unless I have to. Like when I was going through some awful fatigue, and could not get myself to the gym or barre because I thought I was going to fall asleep at the wheel. Or when I was sick, and the Dietitian and Therapist 3.0 equally put their feet down about how going to the gym wasn't the best idea when I was dealing with a Typhoid Mary level cold. 

A month of rest days. 

Nope nope nope. 

Even typing that out, days later, still makes my heart race. Because what was going through my head was largely "OMG. Now I can't even eat, because I'm not going to burn anything off."

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, either the ortho had actually read my full record, or, since his department works with people who are sports-minded, he took time to recognize the panic and work through it. 

You can do other stuff! You can do lots of core work, and arms, and you can modify planks as long as you don't put pressure on the toe. And you can still swim. 

Just... you need to take it quiet for putting pressure on your foot for four more weeks. I understand that you're going to run on Sunday, but you really need to let it heal. 

So core work it is. I've got decent handweights at home (even the physiotherapist was amazed at the stuff that people typically only used at the gym, and I was saying "I've got this at home. Can I do it there?"), and LA Fitness has a decent set up, for the days when I try to swim and can't, or when I'm feeling particularly slug-like. I used to lift, when I noticed that both Dr. Big-Important-Expert-Lady and Dr. New Person had awful bingo arms (I feel moderately guilty about saying that about Dr. BIEL, since I actually liked her, and not at all about Dr. New Person of the "you're so fat you must binge" infamy), and I knew that I never ever wanted to have arms like that. 

Core work isn't awful.  And if it leaves me more toned, then it's worth it.

But still. There's a note on my calendar for when my four weeks are up, and I can get back out on the trail, and back to the barre. 

Faster. Stronger. 

Or something like that.