Still an inspiration!

I was driving home from work earlier this week, dreading the first 10-mile long run of this year's marathon training season, when I heard a familiar name on the radio: Dr. Murray! WAMU was airing a story on the 4th anniversary of her death and the 5th year of the camp she founded. You can listen here:

http://wamu.org/programs/metro_connection/13/06/21/family_friends_remember_girlsup_camp_founder

This morning, as I was slogging through that first 10-mile run, I thought about Dr. Murray: how she helped inspire me to run my first marathon and how she continues to inspire me as I embark on training for marathons #4 and #5. If you need a little inspiration, listen to her story!

Putting a toe out of line.

Toe protection: my new best friend.

Meet my new summer shoes: the (very comfortable) Keen Baha, featuring their patented toe guard. Those of you who know me personally probably know that I am not a fan of wearing gym clothes outside of the gym. Nor am I usually a fan of athletic footwear as everyday footwear. So, what has me wearing hiking sandals to work and to summer parties? The same thing that knocked me out of my scheduled tri on June 2nd: a little accident involving my toes.

All through May, I kept meaning to update this blog and share what Andrew and I were (and weren't) doing to get ready for the Rock Hall Sprint Triathlon. In particular, I wanted to share that we participated in a terrific open water swim clinic on May 18th (info on future clinics by that company here). I also wanted to tell you all about my amazing trip to the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC, aka: the most fun place on Earth. I was eager to share how I'm doing with my ActiveLink activity monitor (pretty well, thank you) and my increased food and veggie consumption (okay, but striving for better). I never got around to writing those updates because I was too busy running around doing all of this great stuff. Then, I hit a wall... or, more specifically, a door.

Warning: I am not going to post any gross pictures here (you're welcome), but the next few paragraphs may not be suitable for the squeamish. If this applies to you, the sanitized version is that I had a freak accident involving a door which resulted in two banged-up toes and one lost toenail. Now, you can skip to "End of gross story". The non-squeamish can read on:

On Thursday, May 30th (3 days before Rock Hall), I was attending an all day continuing ed event at my clinic's flagship office. This particular office houses a  portion of our residential treatment program, so it has features like a gym and a cafeteria, and all the doors are big and heavy for security. I was just finishing up a pleasant lunch with some co-workers, when my colleague Jen and I decided to return to the cafeteria and pick up some snacks for the afternoon. When I opened the cafeteria door, I opened it over my right foot. It really hurt, but I thought it was an "I stubbed my toe" hurt- as in, "this really hurts right now, but it will pass in a second." So, aside from some mental cursing, I didn't say anything. Jen had no idea anything was wrong until a couple minutes later, when I looked down at my foot and realized that two of my toes were purple and bleeding. Fortunately, this particular office also has a nurses' station. I flagged down another colleague who has worked in that office and said "Do you know if its okay for adults to go to the nurse? I think I have a problem." He took one look at my foot and very chivalrously walked me straight to the nurse.

At the nurses' office, a very kind nurse cleaned, examined, and bandaged my foot. Thankfully, I didn't appear to have any broken bones or cuts that required stiches. I had a cut/bruise combo on my 3rd toe, and the nail on my 2nd toe was partially pulled off. As soon as I got a good look at those injuries, I thought "Uh-oh. This might not be good for an open water swim." At that point, it hadn't even occurred to me that running or biking that weekend might be too painful (triathletes sneer at pain), but I was concerned about bacteria from the water getting into my cuts (a very real risk in open water swimming). I told the nurse about the upcoming race and asked if she had any advice about waterproof bandages or other coverings. Given that she was filling out an "occurrence report" for HR/Workman's Comp at that moment, I expected an evasive non-answer. Instead, she actually thought about it and said "I can't tell you whether or not its safe to swim, but you might want to pick up some 'finger condoms' at a drug store. I can't remember the real name, but they are designed to protect wounds on fingers and they would probably work on toes too."

So, that afternoon, I limped into Rite Aid in search of waterproof bandages, "finger condoms," Neosporin, and some antibacterial soap for soaking my foot at night. Sure enough, I found what the nurse had described right away: 

The real name for them is "finger cots," and they really are little condoms you can put on your fingers or toes. I went to work Friday morning, wearing bandages and finger cots on both toes, feeling ridiculous, but protected. In fact, when I got home on Friday afternoon, I learned that the finger cots had formed such a tight seal that they cut off my circulation! My toes were a little swollen, but clean and dry. I thought I might be okay for the swim... and then things got worse.

My mother stopped by to check on me Friday afternoon, just as I taking off the bandages and investigating my foot. I was sitting on the couch, talking to her and not paying close attention, when I lifted up my unbandaged foot and knocked it right into the coffee table. This is something I probably do 3-5 times a week on our big, heavy coffee table, and its usually no big deal. Of course, I usually don't have a toenail that's barely hanging on. Warning: this is where it gets really gross. After kicking the table, I looked down and saw that my toenail had opened like a window and my toe was covered in blood. I think both Mom and I went into a little bit of shock, but I was able to give her instructions and she was able to follow them. She got my foot-soaking basin and filled it with water so I could wash off the blood. Then, she got me some Advil for the pain and a pair of tweezers so I could get a closer look at the toenail itself. Once I willed myself to grab the nail with the tweezers, I realized that it was 99.9% detached, so I took a deep breath and just pulled it off. Mom went out and got me some more supplies, so I could clean and wrap it. As gross as it was, I was actually a little relieved. I didn't kick that table very hard, which tells me that nail was going to get kicked off sooner or later. I'm happy it happened at home and at a time when I had someone there to help.

End of gross story.

When I woke up Saturday morning, I was pretty sure my Rock Hall race plans were over, but I couldn't let it go without at least trying. After changing my bandages, I gingerly put on socks and running shoes and went outside to see if I could run. I went up and down the street a couple times, and it was painful, but bearable. Then, I tried putting on my bike shoes (which are much harder) and walking around the house. Again, painful but bearable. This was frustrating. If the pain had been awful, my decision would have been easy. Instead, I was stuck with "Maybe I could do this, but should I?" Andrew very patiently helped me think through the pros and cons:

Pros:

-I would get to do the race and feel like a badass for pushing through a (disgusting) injury.

Cons:

-I might be in so much pain that the race would be miserable.
-I might be in so much pain that I would have to drop out of the race.
-I might get an infection from bacteria in the water.
-Running and biking might make my injuries worse and put me out of commission for races later in the month (including one of the Champ Series races).

Once I laid it all out, the right decision was obvious. It just wasn't worth the risk. The possibility of missing the next Champ Series race (which is on 6/16) really made the decision for me. As much as I didn't want to miss the tri, I really don't want to miss out on my 4th IronMan award by having to skip a Champ Series race. So, I put away my gear and focused on being Andrew's lead cheerleader/equipment manager for his first tri.

Bright and early Sunday morning, Andrew and I arrived in Rock Hall for the race. It was a beautiful place and a perfect day for racing. I was very glad that I had left my own equipment at home because I definitely would have thrown caution to the wind and tried to race if I had the opportunity. It was warm and sunny with clear skies and what felt like just a little wind... until we got to the water. Down in the harbor, the wind was serious and the water was super-choppy. I got really scared and I can only imagine how Andrew was feeling. Then, we noticed people jumping into the water to warm up. I had never seen people do this at a tri before, but I immediately told Andrew to join them. I wanted him to see how rough the conditions really were so he could prepare himself. He jumped in, paddled around a bit, and came out with good news: it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked. He was visibly relaxed, which calmed me down too.

Ready to race!

Still, I didn't really relax until Andrew finished the swim. His parents came up to watch the race, and we nervously stood at the docks until he came out... running!

Looking good!

 He looked better than I usually look at the end of a swim, and he did a pretty quick transition onto the bike. 45 or 50 minutes later, we had another period of worry. Andrew had exited the water just after our Striders' buddy, Noreen. So, when we saw Noreen come in from the bike leg, we expected Andrew to be right behind her. When we were still waiting 10 minutes later, I got worried that he had a flat. I found out later that he hit a big headwind in the last 5 miles. The headwind was rough on everyone, but especially on Andrew who had very little training on the bike. Finally, he made it in and headed out for the run. A little over 30 minutes later, we saw him round the final corner and sprint for the finish:

Here he comes!

I was so excited for him, and even more excited that he didn't say "Hell, no!" when I asked him if he would do another tri one day.

My triumphant husband.

In fact, Andrew is already signed up for another tri. By the time we got home from Rock Hall, I was determined to make up for my missed race somehow. I had heard of a small, first-time sprint tri happening near our house on June 30th (details here), but I hadn't signed up because two triathlons in one month felt both expensive and crazy. Now, this race would be my chance for redemption. I signed up a couple days later, and Andrew signed up too!

Of course, as soon as I signed up for the 6/30 race, I started to worry. What if my foot isn't better in time? For a few days, it wasn't looking good. As the cuts on my toes healed, the pain actually got worse. I only tried minimal exercise most of last week, and it was rough. Then, this past Saturday, I tried getting on a treadmill for the first time. Initially, it looked bad. It hurt just to lace up my shoes and walk to the treadmill. The first few minutes of walking on the treadmill hurt, but I gradually upped the speed and the pain gradually went away. After 20 minutes, it didn't hurt at all. I was even able to do some military-style pushups (aka: on my toes) afterward. I think that running actually stretched out the skin around the wounds and relieved some pressure. Two days later, it still feels better.

So, I am not expecting to PR in my race on 6/16 or in my tri on 6/30, but I am expecting to get across the finish line and be grateful for it!