Ice Bath, Baby

Or, modifications to my daily activities to accommodate the (still) undiagnosed foot injury.

First off, what follows is not a list of complaints, but statements of fact. These activities would put unwanted stress on my tender foot, so I am removing them from my repertoire for the time being. Second, Devon, over at greenhousegoodlife had some really choice suggestions for blog update titles, but I felt they were a bit punitive toward my foot, so I've opted not to use them, my foot needs no more negative press than what I occasionally give it, but I won't spare you Devon's clever wordsmithing. "malevolent metatarsals" and "offending appendage." Amusing, but I'm leaning toward tenderfoot, myself. Actually, I'm leaning toward most things these days, since I'm trying to keep weight off the injured foot. Third, spending an afternoon in a roomful of runner athletes for a holiday party was not the best idea. I wasn't the only one in the room on the "disabled list" if you will, but I did feel quite sad about my current situation after I left. A margarita (or two) and some commiserating/recovery planning with a some friends who have survived stress fractures and sprained ankles mid to late race season was a good start to a more positive attitude. The coach-recommended ice water soak for my foot after I got home was torture enough to forget anything else that might have been on my mind.

Turns out, I use that right foot for lots more than standard running and walking. In thinking about how I can maintain my fitness if this is indeed a stress fracture, I'm discovering quite a few of my life-maintenance activities, fall-back-on athletic activities, and general hobbies are not available or require significant modifications. To wit:

Running
Walking the dog
Hauling 5 gallon water bottles into the house
Many of my favorite yoga poses (warrior series, crescent, down dog, triangle, tree)
Standard pushups and plank pose (I am already doing modified pushups. No way am I losing the gains I'd already made here)
Biking (not sure about this one, depends on Dr. consult)
Swimming (see above)
Getting up to/down from the sleeping loft without paying careful attention to foot position/placement
Hiking
Squats and step ups (not really missing those just yet)

I am continuing to hope this is not a stress fracture, but also mentally preparing myself for lots of water running in the near future if it is. Santa, can I modify my wish list this late in the game?

Tomorrow - more on ice baths and a video link.