After returning home from a fabulous ski trip in Colorado I woke up one morning and could barely put weight on my right foot. I was a bit startled by it, but mistakenly brushed it off as typical morning stiffness. I told myself it would work itself out and continued to train, work and run (painfully) on it for the next several days. BAD IDEA as it just felt worse each day.

I received X-rays at the Immediate Care Center and they didn't see anything so I figured I would be just fine, but I followed up with an appointment with a Sports Medicine facility just as an extra precaution. Then I heard those dreaded words that have always made me cringe: stress fracture! I was put into a walking boot and was told to only swim or water jog for the next several weeks. WHAT?! I was pretty devastated and especially so since I was registered to run Boston Marathon April 16th. If you know me, you know that I am about the worst "patient" you will ever meet. I am, to a fault, not one to be happy about being sidelined, even when it is necessary; a fact that I am not proud of since I advise my clients about the importance of rest and recovery and don't always practice what I preach.

My initial thoughts were: How could I train clients in a boot when I was supposed to represent fitness? How could I not do my favorite activity for an indefinite period of time? What ever will I do?!

Six weeks later, I somehow survived and learned some very valuable lessons in the process. When an unfortunate situation presents itself that you cannot control, you have 2 options: you can wallow in self pity and probably annoy those around you, or you can have a positive attitude and push through it using coping tools. I'll be honest, I was sometimes the former, but I am happy to say that I was usually the latter. I started "swimming" (if you can call it that) and aqua jogging. I had physical therapy for the first time in my life which was an interesting experience. I trained my core and upper body more and eventually was able to add in spinning and elliptical training. The cross training was actually fun and I enjoyed mixing it up (even though I missed being outside like crazy!).

I am now out of the boot and have added short runs back into my routine. While I am very excited about this, I still plan to continue my new found alternatives. . . and plan to start trying triathalons! So, the moral to the story. . . .A challenging situation can end up turning you into a stronger person, a more empathetic person, and a more resilient person. Or depending on how you choose to approach it, it could also turn you into the exact opposite. This applies to everything in your life whether it be financial, health, relationships, etc. Reach out to others for support; I can't tell you how helpful my So.Be.Fit. family has been to keeping me upbeat. The power of positivity has been well researched and documented, and trust me it is very real! Of course we all have our moments of self-pity, and that is perfectly normal and fine. But keeping your chin up and moving forward is the ultimate goal. 😄