Man Plans, God Laughs

Right when you think you have it figured out, life reminds you that you do not. I was reminded this past Friday while playing soccer. I was playing with a bunch of middle school kids through Soccer Without Borders, where I've volunteered to be an assistant coach, helping with practice once per week, and attending games.

I had been playing poorly by my standards, so when one of the kids ripped a shot and I deflected it, I hauled ass to chase the ball down before it went out of bounds for a corner kick. I touched it enough with my right foot to buy me some time and corral it with my left. But instead of corralling it I rolled over it with my foot and felt a snap and twinge in my foot that took my breath away and made me momentarily nauseous. I tried to walk it off but the pain would not subside.

I kept playing anyway, albeit at 25 percent effort. By the time practice ended and I got in the car to drive home I realized what I had done. Two weeks before my wedding, at the exact moment when everything in my life felt like it was moving ahead smoothly — website was ready for launch, I was finishing up another program, I was in a groove with my various volunteer roles — I added adversity to my life by overdoing it. The same way I always do.

Urgent care was unable to diagnose whether or not it was a fracture. I'll try and get into an orthopedist this week to see if it is in fact a fracture or simply a bad sprain, but either way it is going to be a few weeks before my foot is healed enough to step confidently without a walking boot on. Probably a few more weeks before I can safely step back out onto the pitch and play with the kids.

There's a lesson in everything that happens in life, and I'm waiting to find out what this one is. It can't be as simple as "stop overdoing it." A message I've gotten hundreds of times throughout my life, but at least recently has not come up as frequently. I'm holding out for something better. Maybe a realization about training that forces me to pivot towards even more sustainable and resilient programming. But for now I'm at least trying to accept the fact that for the next few weeks everything has to be slower and more deliberate to make sure that I heal properly.

And while I wait for all this to come to light, I've decided that if I can't do any load bearing exercises for my lower body, I can at least try and fine tune my upper body. So here's a short workout from day one of my walking boot. Focusing on biceps, triceps, and lower anterior core. Enjoy.