NATCHITOCHES -- Mitchell Landry entered the Northwestern State track and field office with the intent of ending his distance running career the second week of the fall semester.The academic senior battled severe pain in his left foot for nearly three years, requiring surgery the summer of his sophomore to remove a cyst. The cyst wrapped around nerve endings between the third and fourth toe (beside his pinky toe).The Haughton native missed his entire junior season after surgery, and following a grueling summer of training to prepare for this season, Landry reached a breaking point."My foot continued to bother me," said Landry, whose training intensified with 'hell week,' which welcomed runners back for the first week of school. "We ran on a gravel road in our first practice, and my foot would tingle at first like it was asleep then go completely numb."The part that bothered me is the recovery -- it's like needles sticking in my foot. I was so tired of going through it. It was enough to make you quit."But NSU cross country coach Nathanial McReynolds knew Landry wasn't a quitter. McReynolds, who endured multiple injuries throughout his NSU distance career, had a plan."He walked into the office and said he didn't love running anymore," McReynolds recalls. "He said he's having problems with his foot, and he feels like he's a hindrance to the team."I knew what he was going through the emotion and the physical abuse you put on yourself. But there are other ways we can train. I asked him, 'If there was a way you could get back into shape without hurting your foot, would you do it?' He said yes."McReynolds implemented a biking regimen for Landry instead of running-based training.After nearly two months of biking designed to rebuild Landry's stamina without taxing his foot by running, Landry will compete in the Southland Conference Championships Friday in Huntsville, Texas.The pair bikes four times a week, traveling anywhere between 25-40 miles along La. Hwy. 478 through a rural slice of Louisiana south of Natchitoches. The most common route is 31 miles, which takes about two hours to complete.Landry still runs twice a week for speed-training purposes, but he said the lighter running load has allowed his foot condition to improve."I've liked riding the bike," said Landry, who added he's crashed only once after his bike wheel dipped into a large crack along Hwy. 1. "At the time, I was for anything that would help relieve a little bit of the pain. It's taken a lot of the strain off my foot.