5 Minutes With Deena Kastor

Deena Talks About the Foot Injury She Sustained During the Olympics

Deena Kastor spent last fall recovering from a broken bone in her right foot that she suffered during last summer's Olympic marathon in Beijing. After taking several months off, the American record-holder and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist started slowly regaining her fitness by riding a bike, training on an underwater treadmill and eventually running again. It's the longest break she's had since she started running as an 11-year-old, but it reinforced the importance of listening to her body and provided a fresh perspective to come back strong and race again in 2009.

Q: How's your foot?

My doctor said I healed beautifully, and it's because I did everything right -- from taking a lot of time off to talking to bone healers to acupuncture to herbal mashes on the top of my foot. Before the Olympics, I felt a little soreness but I never mentioned it because it was so minor. On race day, it felt great, but then at about 21/2 miles, it felt tight for maybe a minute and then it snapped. It was like a popsicle stick snapping and splintering -- that's exactly what it sounded like. The doctor said it was more of a trauma fracture, not a stress fracture, a complete break and splintering of my third metatarsal.

Q: Was it difficult to have such a long layoff?

I love taking breaks after marathons; usually I take a month off then come back slowly. But to not be able to do anything was so debilitating. One of the highlights of my day is taking my dog, Aspen, for a walk, and I couldn't even do that. But it was all the little things you can do when you're healthy that you take for granted. I had to wear a backpack around to carry my books upstairs to read, drink out of a water bottle all the time because I couldn't carry a glass around. Everything took so much thought.

Q: How did your body react?

In the past when I took a break I'd at least go hike in the country or ride my bike to the store, at least stay active even if it wasn't formal training. To not be able to do anything for such a long time is huge, physically and mentally. The worst part of the time off was what was going on histochemically in my body. You train for the marathon and then you taper to store up all this energy, and on race day I was never able to use up that energy I had stored, so it was in me, like a charged battery. I felt this spin or pulse inside that just wouldn't go away.

Q: How will you benefit from the time off?

I was told I could do single leg spinning on a bike, but if my bone is breaking in my foot I knew I clearly needed a rest from the sport. I've been overexerting myself since I was 11. I've always been goal-focused and striving for something, and I took this as an opportunity and a clear sign I need to back off. I feel like the rest has me really hungry to get back out there again.

Q: Did a Vitamin D deficiency lead to the injury?

A test showed I had a great deal of calcium in my bloodstream, but without enough Vitamin D I couldn't utilize it. Something I've prided myself on is taking care of my skin because of repeated bouts of skin cancer -- always wearing hats, long sleeve shirts, lots of sunscreen -- but I guess it's something I need to balance. Maybe when I do my 20-minute warm-up I won't wear sunscreen and wait to put it on with my racing flats on to do my workout. And now I'm taking a calcium supplement called "Bone Up" and eating a lot more green vegetables.

Q: So now that you're back running, what's your plan?

My plan is to do a slow buildup, mostly base aerobic work, probably supplementing it with underwater treadmill running. I'll probably start with more tempos and fartleks as part of a longer run, and then long, slower intervals. I'm going to have a racing plan because as soon as I see a race, I'm going to want to do it. If I'm ready, I'd definitely like to do a spring marathon, but if not I'll just race shorter stuff on the roads and get ready for a fall marathon.

You can keep tabs on Deena yourself, by checking out her blog at www.deenakastor.com/

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