26.2 No Go

I will not be running the marathon.

I went to the doctor yesterday, it looks like I have a stress fracture in my ankle. Yes, the very same ankle I stress fractured in high school. I will be wearing a heavy, uncomfortable boot for 4-6 weeks. I am very upset at the situation- the marathon is in two weeks (couldn't my ankle just wait another 2 weeks and two days to decide it's fractured??). The doctor said running a marathon is impossible. I'm a huge believer that everything is possible, I don't think I have "impossible" in my vocabulary! I just had to ask the doctor what would happen if I just so happened to feel okay the day of and ran the half marathon? He told me that it could cause my leg to break and require surgery and I'd really be out of running for a long time...ew. Fair enough, but I did have to ask. I'm in complete disbelief that this happened. Honestly, I went to the doctor completely calm because I was certain it was just a mild sprain.

The doc recommended an aqua jogger, but is there any other form of cardio that's safe for a stress fractured ankle? I'd love to know!

I'm a bit heartbroken knowing I can't participate in the race I've been preparing for for 5 months. It's not just running the miles that makes training difficult, it's also having to sacrifice time to train, making changes to my diet so I can feel good during a run and the mental struggle. I just hope that when I'm able to start running again I have the same motivation and drive I had during this training.