Update

With each set back that we experience we have the opportunity to use it to improve or regress. Last June when I had issues at FANs, I choose to regress although I would have argued otherwise as I more or less ignored the issues and still tried to run at Afton and sure enough I could not work through them. I took this set back as an opportunity to improve and went to the Dr for a diagnosis and assistance. I was making good progress when my work became demanding and I regressed again. Now at the time I again would have argued otherwise as I increased my mileage just enough to give me the hope that I could still take on Superior but I did not work hard enough and I quit working on the other things that I needed to do to make me stronger and that led to my failure at Superior. This week as I was processing Superior and letting the ankle improve, I was trying to decide what to do next and I think I was again going to regress further until yesterday.

Yesterday, it appears I was given another opportunity to choose a path that will lead to improvement. Yes, I may have torn a calf muscle (I am still hopeful that maybe my amateur diagnosis is wrong and it is the aftermath of a severe cramp). And yes, I still can't walk normally nor can I straighten the leg or put my heel to the ground at least with any sense of urgency. Suffice to say that yesterday and even this morning I was not a happy camper and I was probably headed towards additional regression as my negative thoughts were flowing. Upon reflection, I am choosing a different path and intend to use this as an opportunity to move forward.

Tomorrow, I will call my Dr with the intent to actually follow his advice. TCM is out and Surf the Murph will depend on what the Dr. tells me. The good news is that I just tried to peddle our exercise bike and I can do that as long as I don't try to fully straighten the leg. Don't worry, I won't try to use the bike today as my plan is to follow the RICE principal and then see what I can find out tomorrow.

Mentally, I am planning on being shutdown from running at least for a while (a week to a month, hopefully no longer) with the realization that my racing year might be over. If it is then my plan will to be to cross train to maintain mental health, weight and to become stronger. It will be hard to not run but there are many other things I can do if I take this on with a positive attitude and use this as the opportunity it needs to be.