Stress Fracture Blues

Dang it! The training for the Portland Marathon (and just perhaps my age too) has finally done me in. Just a month after I ran 26.2 miles, I ended up with a stress fracture on my right foot. And I have over-training to blame.

I am so frustrated! Running is my stress relief, my religion, my saving grace on a crappy day. Not only that, but coming up on age 40 seems to have slowed my metabolism such that I have to work extra hard to keep the pounds at bay.

Now, I get news today that there shall be no running for 4-6 weeks. What can I do? Swim? Um.... no. Not only am I not that great of a swimmer (I couldn't do a flip turn to save my life), but the thought of all the extra effort of pulling on a swimsuit and getting all wet in a pool, makes me want to run as fast as my kitten from a running bathtub. If that wasn't insult enough, I have to wear an ugly post-op "shoe" that has a stiff sole and keeps me from bending my toes when I walk.

I found out that it is not uncommon for women like me to suffer a stress fracture. Women my age (pre-menopausal - gulp!) are more likely to have issues with bone density. The amount of running I was doing - about 30 miles per week - also had something to do with it. So, how to keep injuries at bay in the future? Slowly increase mileage (check), make sure you have good, supportive shoes (OK, I need to work on that), and don't run when you are feeling any pain (my bad - I ran on Sunday even though my toes were hurting). If only I could be like this guy in the pole-vaulting video and continue my sport while I am healing:



What can I do for the next month or two after being diagnosed with a stress fracture? Starve myself - since I'm not burning off 500+ calories per day with exercise? Nope. I can't do that. I love food too much! To help me in that department, however, I have taken on Julie's no-sugar challenge, which has at least three times today kept me out of the Halloween candy. No leftover birthday cake for me either. I have considered starting to ride my bike to work - I live only 4 miles from downtown Bend - so that would be theoretically easy. But its November. Waaaah! I don't want to cycle in the snow.

I guess the bottom line is that the stress fracture is nature's little way of telling me to slow down. Heck, it was dark today at 4:30, so who wants to go out and exercise in the rain in these conditions? OK, yes, it would have been me....

Credit Crunch Crisis Hits Main Street

I opened up my email this morning and came across a very sad situation, resulting from the credit crunch crisis. One of my hometown's beloved holiday traditions, the Bend Christmas Parade, may not go forward this year because of the tightening economy and lack of donations to support it. Talk about Wall Street affecting Main Street! This event brings our relatively small community together every December. Antique fire engines are dressed up, floats are homemade, and cheerleaders and horses parade down the main street of Bend, Oregon to the delight of young and old. The parade ends with the triumphant arrival of Santa Claus! Will he be forced to take a raincheck this year?

Parade organizers are begging for donations so that the show can go on. A mass email to community supporters was sent out asking for ANYTHING - $10, $50, whatever we can spare to keep the magical Bend Christmas Parade alive this year. Just think how many parades $700 billion could fund....


Parades, Wall Street and Congress aside, I am quite worried about the direct effect the credit crunch crisis will have on my family this holiday season. We have four children, ranging in age from 5 to 11. Three out of four of them still believe in Santa Claus. I wonder whether we will have to explain that many of Santa's elves have been laid off and cannot make the kind of toys they are requesting. Our gift budgets will undoubtedly be tighter this year. And there is not enough holiday magic to change that situation in the near future.