Update on progress

So it’s been awhile since I wrote my last entry. The last time I wrote everything was going great and I had achieved some great results in my races. But on June 23 I suffered a set back to stop me from running for 7 weeks. That morning I was out for a 19k run. All was going very well and I was feeling very strong. But at km 17 something just went wrong in my foot, one second I could run, the next I couldn’t even walk. That is when I suffered the stress fracture to the third metatarsal. I had been running with a large blister on the inside of my foot, which probably caused me to overcompensate to run on the outside, which is not normal for me, MY FAULT. That was the first injury I have ever gotten that has knocked me out from any of the three sports. Although I was going crazy not being able to run, I believe that the injury was a blessing. As mentioned, swimming is my weakest of all three. But with this limitation of not being able to run, I was able to work very hard on my swimming. I was doing 5 swims a week and all open water because I couldn’t push off the wall at the pool. I put a tremendous amount of effort and dedication into my swimming during those 6 weeks. I really have to thank my dad, who would come with me every morning and every night to the lake. The injury also helped me increase my bike power. I have reached a new level of output on the bike which I don’t think I would have been able to achieve if I was also concentrating on my run. My patience was put to the test during Ironman Providence 70.3 during this injury, as I was only able to do the swim and bike portion. My entry fee was already paid for and so was the hotel, so why not go and get some race experience in. The swim went well, considering it was a non-wetsuit swim, which I was not ready for. But once I got on the bike I put the hammer down and got myself into 32nd overall going into T2. But that was the end of the road for me at that race. It did give me a great deal of confidence and experience knowing I could compete at that level. It’s been about 3 weeks know since I have started to run again and things are coming along. The speed isn’t fully back but it’s getting there. The first week was used to get back into the swing of things, completing short runs on turf only. The second week was completing a little longer runs without breaks, and now I am up to doing long runs and including speed. My next race will be Ironman Muskoka 70.3 on September 11, where I hope to secure my spot for the 2012 World Championship 70.3. I am confident that with all of my hard work on the swim and bike and with the patience I had during my injury, I will be rolling into Muskoka fully charged and ready to throw down a solid performance. If everything goes to plan, I will compete the following week in Syracuse then in the Pocono Mountains on Oct 2. The major lesson that I learnt from the injury is not to run when something is not right, in my case the blister. After one day of being pissed, I was able to use this issue and focus on other parts of my sports which needed more attention. Injuries can be blessings if you deal with them the right way! When I returned from running, I picked up a pair of Newton shoes. I had done a lot of research on these shoes and have read all of the reviews. This was probably the best decision I have made. The shoes are excellent and now when running I don’t feel any issues in my feet/toes. Huge thanks to my sponsor Euro-sports for hooking my up with the best pairs of shoes ever. I will add a separate post about the shoes soon. See you in Muskoka! Lou