:-(

It has been a loooong 2 weeks.

OK...let me back up a bit.

At the beginning of August I realized it was time to get some new shoes.  My trusty K-Swiss that had got me through Boise Half Ironman and  2 half marathons this year were worn out.  I checked the kswiss website and they didn't have my favorite shoes available anymore so I decided that instead of just picking any shoe I would go and get properly measured at a local running store.

I took my kswiss with me to the store and showed the sales girl what I had been running in.  Then she watched me walk and run,checked for over/underpronation and suggested a shoe that would work for me.  Of course it was just about the most expensive shoe that they carry, but I thought it would be worth it seeing as I would be running an Ironman marathon in them.

Once I got them home I tried to be smart and for the first 2 weeks only did some short runs in them. After breaking them in I did my first long run in them.  12 miles. At the end of the run the top of my right foot was red and swollen and the pinky toe on my left foot had a massive blood blister. I went to the PT for a visit and brought both my old and new running shoes so he could check them both out.  He suggested staying with the new ones and just loosening up the laces a bit so they didn't rub on the top of my foot. 

Next week my long run was 14 miles and this is where everything came undone.  By the end of my long run I was feeling a sharp pain in the outside lateral part of my left foot.  After the run I iced my foot and tried to tell myself it was just a muscle strain but by the following day I couldn't walk at all.

Being 9 weeks out front IMAZ I started to panic.  My PT got me to have xrays and in to see a sports med doctor who does a lot of work with triathletes (she volunteers at the med tent in Kona every year so she knows her IM stuff).  the first thing she did when she saw my foot was ask...When is the cutoff time for withdrawing from the race.  Hmmm...NOT good.

The short story is that I have torn the peroneal tendons in my foot.  I'm in a boot for 4 weeks and am getting an MRI next week to see if the tear will require surgery.  Bottom line - I'm out of Ironman Arizona.

I can't believe it.

It's hard to come to terms with that seeing as I have been training for this race for nearly a year.  I've followed all my training and I'm fit and in race shape. I have a friend flying in from Australia to watch me race. I have friends coming from Spokane to cheer me on. I can't believe that such a thing as new shoes can change everything.  Initially I beat myself up about it but I really thought I was doing the right thing by going to the running store to get properly fitted.  I thought I was being smart. 

Some friends have encouraged me to still do the race and just walk the marathon but my doctor has warned me that this could cause permanent damage. Because I'm already planning to do Oceanside 70.3 in March I don't want this injury hanging around and messing up that race too.

So I've decided that this week I will be having a major pity party.  My goal is to eat my own body weight in chocolate.  It's a lofty goal but I'm dedicated to achieving it.  My training plan this week:

1 - Wallow in self pity.

2 - Next week - move on!