Recent developments: I have a stress fracture on my L5 vertebrae and will not be competing at Sr Worlds in China this year. Please, no need to cry much as I have this has been in the works since July. After nationals, I found out I had a bilateral pars defect on my L5. If I continued to lift I risked cracking it all the way through and then it becoming a serious spinal cord injury. It has been since July that I -on the record- attempted to go through a workout. As of now I will be cleared to start training Oct 12, I have declined my spot to China, and I have accepted my invite to Qatar as my first Olympic qualifier. Overall, I have certainly been better but grateful for the timing and support I’ve had to ensure there will be no reoccuring pain. I can’t even say it’s the worst thing to happen to me this year so I owe myself some compassion. As it turns out I’m not that special and every athlete gets hurt if you do this long enough. I cannot justify this as a failure when my goal has al...