Post Surgery and Race Update - June 2016

10 days after the Boston marathon Joe the Toe went under the knife. The doctor removed a mass that turned out to be scar tissue. He also shaved down some small bone spurs and found an infection. Surprisingly, I recovered very well and was running 3 weeks to the day from my surgery. I credit this to my amazing surgeon but I was also prepared and took my recovery very seriously. Some of the key things I did were:

• Ate Bone Broth daily.
• Ate an anti-inflammatory diet with lots of fresh vegetables, wild caught fish, proteolytic enzymes and turmeric.
• Took supplements for nutrients important in the healing process (zinc, vitamin C, vitamin A, magnesium, collagen and others)
• Supported my detoxification pathways to help my body recover from the anesthesia.
• Took a high dose of probiotics to combat the antibiotics that were required to fight the infection. I have rarely taken antibiotics in my life but there are times when they are necessary.

I was careful not do anything to cause another infection, which meant no swimming for 5 weeks. I was able to bike a few days after the surgery and running felt good (with more than one shoe option!) after 3 weeks. 

Almost a year ago I registered for the Boulder 70.3 with no idea that I would need surgery. When I met with my surgeon he told me that it's unknown how soon I could race after surgery but don't count anything out. I'm happy to report that I will be on the start line tomorrow in Boulder! I'm not as prepared as I'd like to be but doing a race 6 weeks after surgery is a win to me, no matter what the outcome of the race.