It’s hard to believe that I literally couldn’t walk as recently as 6 weeks ago. Between now and then, I’ve made massive leaps in my recovery, and more recently, 3 sets of 10 leaps at physical therapy. I’m almost there. Whether you’re a frequent reader or you have a broken 5th metatarsal and can’t wait to resume activity, I wanted to share a few quick bullets that capture my progress since I was cleared to walk:

Mid February 2015: 5th metatarsal avulsion fracture – ankle roll (inversion) while trail running

Early May 2015: cleared to walk, cycle outside in cycling shoes, and swim without restrictions. Started physical therapy 2x week, 1.5 hours per session. Started high-intensity indoor cycling classes 2x a week, and 50+ mile outdoor rides on Saturdays.

May 22: cleared to jog, and started a 5-week progressive return to running program. Cleared to walk/run a 10k the following weekend.

May 31: raced Vineman Monte Rio – an Olympic triathlon, and completed the 10k in ~52 minutes including 6×1 minute walk breaks.

June 1-10: continued to ramp up running – incorporated walk breaks every 5 minutes, and ran at a comfortable pace with some faster (10k) pickups.

June 12-13: ran 10 miles split over 2 sessions (4 miles on 6/12, 6 miles on 6/13). Held a comfortable pace for 10 minutes at a time, and incorporated 1 minute walk breaks every 10 minutes. Consistently logged sub 8 minute miles, and ran my first sub 7 minute mile.

Week of June 15th*: cleared to resume running without walk breaks – no more than 1 hour per workout.

*Unfortunately, my big return to running this week has been derailed by a bad cold that I’ve picked up, however I’m resigned to resting instead of pushing hard and setting myself back further.

Although I haven’t run more than 6 miles in 4 months, my swimming and cycling volume is higher than it has been in recent years, and I’ve retained more running fitness than I thought I would through cross training. As it stands now, I’m on target to race Vineman 70.3 on July 12th – my realistic goal is to beat my 5:26 PR, however simply getting to the starting line with a PR in striking distance would be a huge win in itself.

Looking ahead, I’ve started to lay the groundwork for my Berlin Marathon training program, but for now, I’m only focusing on what I can do safely: if there’s one thing I’ve learned from being hurt, it’s that I’d take a lower intensity workout/additional rest days over a longer spell on the sidelines – every time.

Thanks for all the kind words and support throughout the course of my injury – I look forward to sharing great news and big results with you all soon!