I talked to my sister, a nutritionist, and a sleep medicine consultant, who asked me an important question: Are you getting enough sleep? And that is when it hit me; I focused so much on the other two factors (which is what most people do when they think about a healthy lifestyle) and left out a fundamental piece of the puzzle.
Playing favorites rarely turns out well and usually comes back to bite you in the ass or in this case, the ankle. Multiple bone bruises and tendonitis to be exact. A classic overuse situation with a side of ramping up mileage too quickly. So I hit the pool with renewed focus and channeled all my energy into The Swim.