Injury report

Here is the update:

My elbow is getting better every day. If I had to put a number on it, I would say I am about 70%. I don't have the range of motion I would like and I still have some pain. I ran twice this week and it held up well. I took a spin class and it bothered me a bit more than I wanted. I will swim on Monday and see what that brings. Tuesday, I will get back on my awesome road bike and see what that brings. Tuesday afternoon, I see Dr. Jake for one final appointment. I have continued with my supplements, even adding some to the mix. This f-ing elbow is going to heal faster than any other elbow in history. Period.

Here are some pictures of the progress. The swelling is just about gone, just some left right at the elbow. The tape makes it hard to see. The tape is there to keep the lymphatic system open so the toxins and swelling can be processed. I have a little bit of bruising at the elbow and oddly on my wrist.

I have been working so hard to get this thing better. I didn't really want to tell anyone because I didn't want any negative energy. I didn't want anyone telling me that I shouldn't do the Ironman, because I am doing it. I didn't want to have to explain my decision or justify it. As time has passed, people have found out and a few have told me that I shouldn't do it, that I should just heal. I hate that and am trying to get that out of my mind. My typical response is "after what I have gone through the last 9 months to get ready for Ironman, this injury is nothing" and it is true. Is a blip, a bump.

I have gotten some really great support from people too. My spin instructor said to me this week "you are one tough chick, if anyone can do it, you can". I needed to hear that because I don't often think of myself as tough. Our friend and training partner Doug told me how strong he believes I am and I loved this quote "you just learned to swim not too long and are now throwing yourself into this pile of shit" meaning the Ironman swim. It makes me feel good to have people believe in me. It makes me feel good to have people who know I can do it.

My doctor and I were talking about why I do this. I was telling him how afraid I am of things being hard. He said "you obviously aren't afraid of the pain, because you beat the shit out of your body". I hadn't thought about it like that!

I guess my point in all this is that I am tougher than I think and stronger than I know. This is just another chance to keep moving forward. That's all I can do.

I am working now on moving my arm around, using it a bit more. The rest of my body has compensated and I need to focus on getting things all stretched out and loose. Same thing with my mind...stretched out and loose.