Pivoting in my boot

Ok, I finally saw the doctor today. Here is my current status.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rebecca Ann Neumeier (@beccasbigsmile)

Ultrasound was used to confirm there is a tear in my gastrocnemius muscle so  I am wearing the boot and will do physical therapy to fix the muscle. For now I may only cross train WITHOUT USING MY CALF. That pretty much leaves me with swimming with a pull buoy or extreme crocheting. I am up for the challenge!

I got some cheer-leading from Sonja Wieck that my shift in goals is called “The art of the pivot”

Ironman Wisconsin is off the table (filed my insurance to hopefully get my money back) and now IM Santa Rosa 70.3 is off as well. 2017 is the year of DNS.

So what am I pivoting to you may ask… I am hoping to be up and running reasonably well by the end of the summer so I can qualify in the fall/winter for Boston in 2019. Then Stuart and I will be trying to do Boston to Big Sur in 2019!!! How cool is that!?!

I will also be going for the full IM Santa Rosa in 2018 in hopes of gaining a slot to Kona.

This is just a hiccup. I will come back!

 

I admit it… I am jealous!

Being part of a team is totally awesome. Not only am I supported by the maker of the best kit for endurance sports but there are so many wonderful women that I get to call my teammates!

There is one consequence of being on a team with some amazing athletes. It is hard not to be a bit jealous of other’s success. Watching your teammates crush their races is super inspiring but it makes me a bit jealous. I am sure this is worse right now because I am not sure when I will be racing again do to this silly calf!

So instead of stewing over my jealousy I am calling it out! Stating that I feel that way so I can move on and get past it! It is time to cheer for those reaching their goals and draw on that for inspiration!

Well done to those who got their Kona spots and re-qualifed for Boston. I am so excited for you and lucky to have you in my world! One day I will join you at those races! I believe!

2017 Boston Marathon Report

Obviously, I really wish this would have been a race report. But thanks to an uncooperative calf, this is just a bunch of fun pics from my trip and an update on my plans for the year.

The trip to Boston was tough and a lot of tears were shed but I am so glad we went. Stuart and I always have the best time on vacation and this was no exception. I am not going to bore you with the details. Instead, I will post up a bunch of pics so you can see what we did.

View of the final stretch!

Amy and Ruby!!!

Elaina S, litle miss speedy!

Abi from far far away!

Coeur Team DInner

Mike’s Pastry with Lisa and Stuart

My sign for Amy

The most crowded T ride ever.

Harvard Square for lunch

BIke riding along the Charles River

Harvard

The finish line… one day!

While we were there, we talked about the plan for the rest of the year. Since I am still struggling to run I am now planning on making a big shift in my goals and races.

Ironman Wisconsin is out. I do not think I am capable of having the race I was planning on due to the calf injury. It is a LOT of money to make the trip out there and to have a good race we need to go twice. I just can’t justify the expense. I did get the insurance on the race so I am hoping that I will be able to use it since I am injured. Otherwise we will walk away from the registration fee.

So what about the rest of the year? Here is what I am thinking…

• IM Santa Rosa 70.3 in May – Gonna go but most likely will pull out after the bike. This is a great opportunity to test my bike fitness and see just how hard I can go. Plus, I am not planning on going to do the full in May 2018 so this will serves as race recon for 2018.
• Santa Clarita Marathon in November – I plan on trying to re-qualify for Boston so I can go in 2019. The best part is Stuart may be trying to qualify for 2019 so we can run it together! If I can’t do it at this race, there will be a few more opportunities in January-March. Once I am healthy I know I can do this.
• Ironman Santa Rosa May 2018 – Gonna try for Kona.

There may be some more races sprinkled in but it looks like 2017 is going to be a bit of a bust for me.

I am not giving up on my dream of qualifying for Kona. I am just being realistic and not trying to force it. I will get there!

It isn’t always rainbows and unicorns

I am usually very good about having a positive outlook on things. I am always the glass is half full, not empty, kind of person. Well not at the moment. Yes, I know there are way worse things that could be happening in my life and I really do have a lot of good things going on. But to be blunt, I am really pissed I won’t be running Boston. I worked really hard for it…TWICE! And once again I will not be running. I think it is hitting me the hardest right now because I am honestly not sure how my calf injury is recovering. I have not run for over 3 weeks because I am hoping rest is the cure. I could be doing all kinds of PT treatments but honestly I can’t afford it and I am tired of the pressure from more people to get better. But I can still “feel” something is wrong in my calf. I feel like this year is going to end up being a bust and Wisconsin isn’t going to go well.

I gave myself the goal of qualifying for Kona by 45 but I am starting to doubt I can make that happen.

Pitty-party over.