Test results

I saw a doctor a few weeks ago, and he recommended an MRI of my right leg as well as an xray, to rule out a stress fracture.  I had been having some pain in my right leg on the bone about halfway down the leg, so I thought the tests made sense.

The good news is that I do not have a stress fracture.  However, I do have a painful, acute shin split that is causing some edema (swelling) along my bone, which is contributing to the pain (I tend to get abnormal swelling in my body due to my Crohn's Disease).  I've never had a shin splint before.  My doctor said that the best way to cure this problem is to take time off, so I have decided to do so.  I haven't run in 3 weeks as of today, and while I rode my bike 4 times over the last 2 weeks on the trainer (with no pain, as I went extremely easy), I have decided to shut that down for a few weeks also.  Therefore, all I am doing is swimming (being very careful when I push off the wall not to hurt my leg) and walking (I usually walk to and from work, which is about 1.7 miles each way). 

I went out to cheer all of my friends that ran the New York City Marathon yesterday, which I really enjoyed.  Frankly, it was very cool to watch and while I was sad I wasn't running, I knew that I made the right decision.

I really miss running and riding, but I am 100% focused on my Ironman for next year and want to be 100% pain free before resuming running and riding.  As of today, my goal is to take 6-8 weeks off from running (which means early to mid December when I resume running) and 4 weeks off from riding (which will put me in early December also).  When I resume, I will take it very easy and build back up.  I am hoping to swim 3-4 days a week until then.  I have fallen below the hump and will need to get over it again.  I will.

Yesterday, I signed up for a half ironman, the Quassy Rev 3 race, in Middlebury, CT.  I did my first triathlon, a sprint, at Quassy last summer.  I picked this race because it is extremely well run and because it is extremely hilly (one of the toughest half ironman races around).  I am looking for hilly because the Ironman Canada, which I am doing next August, is also extremely hilly and I want to be prepared.  The race is extremely popular and attracts professionals (Craig Alexander and Miranda Carfree won the race last year) as well as average age groupers like me.  I'm excited for it.  Some of my friends have also signed up for it, which is awesome. 

I ran 3 marathons in the last year (New York 11-09; Kenosha Wisconsin 5-10; and Chicago 10-10).  I won't run another marathon until Ironman Canada.  Time for my body to recover and get healthy.  Still trying to figure out why my right leg gets hurt.  It could be overuse, but I think there is more to it.   More to come on this as we try to figure it out.

Here is a copy of the MRI report