Throwing in the Towel

I finally went to the doctor to get my foot/ankle checked out since the pain refused to go away. Three x-rays and a few pokes and prods later, I got a little bad news.

Strained spring ligament.

And then I got some worse news.

Possible stress reaction/stress fracture in the navicular bone.

My options are to A) get an MRI to confirm/rule out stress reaction/fracture (which would cost $200-$300), or B) see a PT that specializes in running and continue to train for the race.

As I have mentioned before, I can be somewhat stubborn when it comes to running. It is hard to decide on my own to take a break, when no one is telling me I have to.

I have thought and thought and thought about what to do. I remember my first half-marathon, when I didn't fuel right and bonked half-way through. I was so disappointed crossing the finish line because I had such a bad race. I couldn't even celebrate the fact that I had just run a half-marathon. I don't want that to happen again at my first marathon.

So, I have decided to skip the race. In addition to not wanting to have a bad first race, the treatment for a navicular stress fracture is 6-8 weeks in a boot, while the treatment for a navicular stress reaction is 2 weeks of weight-bearing rest. I think the latter sounds a LOT better.

This is the first weekend since November that I haven't done a long run. I already miss it. Ugh. Hopefully, after 2 weeks things will feel better. The doctor said I can still do Zumba if there isn't jumping involved, so I plan on doing Zumba two days a week and strength training two days a week to keep up my fitness somewhat.

Over the last 2 years, the longest I have gone without running is 5 days. I think I am going to go a little crazy. And now I can't eat pizza and chocolate and ice cream in large amounts! Sigh. What's a girl to do?