stress fracture...how to build a base without running?

get on a bike. i've been riding my bike roughly 45 miles a day to stay somewhat fit until i can run again. it won't be the same, obviously, but at the minimum, you won't gain weight.

and biking is more similar to running than swimming is.

Pool running. Doesn't completely maintain fitness, nothing does, but gets you in a position to regain quickly. I had bilateral tibial stress fractures, pool ran for 5 weeks, did a 7 week walk/run/crosstrain program to get back at it without getting hurt again, and then 3 months later destroyed my PR in the marathon by 17 minutes and broke 3 hours for the first time. I am a 34 year old female. You will come back quick if you keep up the crosstraining and take care of the injury.

ow wrote:

So a nagging foot injury caused me to can my track season. Thought it was minor, but after 4 weeks of being out and it still hurting I decided to see a doctor..turns out it was a metatarsal stress fracture. Will have to spend 6-8 weeks in a boot (injury was not well taken care of)and then a few more easing back in.

That is a very stupid thing to do. I had 3 fractured metatarsals and refused to have a cast on my foot. I was back running in 6 weeks, and back to 100 miles a week in 10 weeks. Soak your foot in icewater, 5 minutes at a time, as many times a day as possible. I kept an elastic wrap on my foot when it wasn't being soaked, until it was healed enough to do without it. Keep soaking in the icewater until your foot is completely healed. Personally I started alternating limping and hobbling at 4 1/2 weeks, and was completely back to running in 6.

Steve Jones had a broken foot that they put a cast on and he broke the cast 6 times by trying to run on it hahaha. The next year he broke the WR.

Pool running, cycling and swimming. Go hard and do not back off. I came off of a tibia fracture with this routine and lost very little speed. Strength was another issue though and took some time to regain.

this (http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports/water.shtml) helped me a lot when i was dealing with a strained muscle in my back. went into the water having recently run a 4:24 mile, 5 weeks later got out of the pool, did a week of dry land workouts and ran a 4:07 1500. not killer times, but at least i maintained fitness.

Op, please ignore this post.

wow thank you all for your input. I think being aggressive with the injury is what got me in this mess so I want to be more cautious than not.

That pool running article was very informative and the schedule is just the kind of thing I was looking for...thanks for sharing! I will try it out and also throw in some cycling and swimming on the cross-train days.

I second not putting it in a boot. You can jog easily on really soft surfaces and still allow a stress fracture to heal. It fractured due to stress so avoid stress. (ie. don't run up or down hills, don't run fast, don't toe off)