Week three of rehabilitation and things are well. I still wear the toe to knee boot on my left leg, I have graduated from crutches and I am even permitted to swim, cycle and practice yoga with two feet. Two weeks of one legged cycling for four hours was interesting. I have absolutely no pain except when I squeeze my Achilles tendon with my fingers, and even that is 50% less. The partial tear of my Achilles tendon rehabilitation plan is underway.

I have crossed Ironman off the schedule for 2006. I know that 2007 will bring better things. I have a tentative schedule for '06, but all that will wait as I complete my rehabilitation. The team is assembled: Physical Therapist, Massage Therapist, Active Release Therapist, Chiropractor, Nutritionist and Acupuncturist. People have literally come out of the woodwork to help me, and for that I am grateful. I don't know how I got so lucky; I am just an age group athlete. It is my hope that I can teach others that injuries can be overcome with patience and a good team. ??For so long I seem to have been running on empty, that when I finally came to a halt, it was like a snowball ran me over. Perhaps I have been running from the snowball for five years with little sleep, a lot of caffeine and not the greatest nutrition. Through the past three weeks I have been sick with strep throat, and a few other viruses. I have not been sick in five years. More lessons I that am learning.

As we begin the rebuilding from the inside out, the forerunner has been nutrition. With decreased activity comes decreased calories, relearning what hunger is, and fueling my body with vitamins, minerals and only good nutrition from good sources. Good stuff coming in, means healing from the inside out from immune system to muscles.

My massage therapist has finally begun to make some progress through the cobblestone roadway of knots that has resided in my shoulders for years. That's thanks to 25 years of swimming. Wow, with a little rest we've even made progress there!

So all is well n the rehabilitation front. It's hard to be good to ourselves; it's hard to take care of ourselves. It's like we are in a society where pain means we are getting stronger, where the more it hurts must mean faster... when it all comes crashing down we realize that might not be the only way.

What if for one season we are good to ourselves? Resting when we really should, fueling ourselves well, staying away from the edge that we too often push through? Would that mean we are conceited, or egotistical? Where should we draw the line between that, and just taking care of ourselves?

I think it can be an amazing place to be, when the mind and the body stop fighting, and start working together. That may be the key to all of this. When I think of that concept, an athlete named Natasha Badman comes to mind. There is a woman who takes care of her body, her soul, her spirit. And every October that care allows her to spread her wings and fly. Could that be what is holding the rest of us back?

We'll see.