Erin Shepherd is a TeamOrdinary athlete coached by Coach Scott. She is currently training for her first Ironman 70.3 in 2021.
A while back, I had some pretty bad foot pain in my heel. Like all good endurance athletes, I totally ignored it for about two weeks. I went into the doctor at last, and was told I had likely had a stress fracture in my heel. Naturally, I was pretty let down.
After over four years of running and, more recently, triathlon, I’d never had more than a sprained ankle. I was really worried how this was going to impact my fitness. Through training, I was finally gaining speed on the run and some serious strength on the bike. I raced (albeit placing last, look for my other blog post on that), and overall felt as though I was improving.
So, I did what any good athlete does and threw myself into the one discipline that I was able to do, and that was swim. I was a good little fishy, and really improved my overall strength and time in the chlorine box. I was able to get in a few more open water swims, and work on my anxiety. I worked on my nutrition skills, focused on my day job, and did my best to keep on keeping on, despite not doing the one thing I love most: the run. I have to admit, not being able to run for weeks was not fantastic on a mental level. Even though I knew I was doing well on the swim, staying fit, and working on mental aspects of the sport, it didn’t feel like enough. It didn’t feel like I was truly present in my training.
Fast forward to my follow up appointment with a different doctor, who took much more comprehensive x-rays. They determined it was not a stress fracture. The pain was caused by a bone spur which, eventually, will need to be removed but for now we can mitigate with different shoes, insoles, anti-inflammatories and stretching.
The best part? I was cleared to run and bike!
I could get back into my training routine. Oh boy did I do so! I immediately went for a run the next day, and biked that weekend. In the month since that appointment, I have been able to meet an outside distance cycling goal (40 miles) and I ran an in-person 25K trail race. My running is back to 20 miles a week (low end for me), and I’m back on the bike regularly.
Originally, this was going to be a story of how I bounced back from injury. But, upon reflection, I never really left. I did swim. I did use yoga practice. I did work on core strength. I did work on my nutrition. My training just changed a little to meet the circumstances presented. Just like when work conflicts with my training schedule, or when I travel for holidays, it doesn’t stop or bounce back. It just changes.
When you’re presented with a change, whether its family/work obligations or injury, it’s important to understand you’re not coming back from something. You’re just changing the game. Sometimes, the game goes back to normal, sometimes it doesn’t. But, at the end of the day, as long as you’re putting in the work, you’re still in the game.