Taking my fall back week to the extreme...

...or I could call it a 'super taper.'    Whatever you call it, my running was pretty nonexistent this week.  On one hand, I am disappointed in myself, on the other hand, I am proud of my restraint and willingness to step back and realize what is important.

Saturday night, after my twenty miler, I was sitting at my desk and suddenly, I had excruciating pain on the top of my foot.  It was sudden and intense.  I assumed it was a cramp, but I had never had a cramp on the top of my foot before.   When the pain subsided a little, I discovered that it hurt a lot to walk.  I iced it right away.  The pain turned to a dull throbbing.

I was terrified.  The only thing that came to mind was "stress fracture."  I uncharacteristically avoided Google, because I was afraid of what I might find.  I didn't post it on facebook because I was afraid to say it out loud.  I less than five weeks out from Surf City.  I am looking forward to it and have been really enjoying my training.  The thought of losing all that to injury was more than I was ready to face.

My foot felt better the next morning, but I could still feel the pain.  It definitely wasn't intense like it had been, but it was there.  I felt it more if I flexed my foot.   I probably could have run my scheduled eight miles, but decided to rest and ice.  I remember hearing my coaches in certification training say, "better to take one week off running than to push it and be out for six." 

I rested Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, just to be safe.  On Wednesday I decided to do an easy run.  I ran an easy three miles and didn't have any pain during the run.  Thank God!  It hurt a little bit afterward, however.  It was then I decided to check Google.

Of course, one of the first things that came up was a stress fracture.  The pictures, however, showed pain much closer to the toes.  My pain is right in the center of the top of my foot, directly underneath where I tie my shoe.  I assume that if I had a fracture, it would hurt during running, not necessarily after.  There are two other possibilities: tendonitis and nerve entrapment.  The first one is likely caused by hill running (trails?) or poor footwear and the second by falling arches or poor footwear.  My shoes are the same shoes I have run in for two years.  They only have a couple hundred miles on them.  I did run my twenty miler in my trail shoes, so maybe they aren't the best thing for the long runs.  The treatment is the same for both: rest and ice. 

Yesterday, I planned on running again.  I woke up at 5:30 and just before I headed out the door just after 6, my husband informed me that he had to leave for work early.  He didn't come home until after I was in bed the night before, so we caught up for a few minutes.  I then realized that I could only realistically get two miles in before he had to leave... so I skipped it.   I thought I could give my foot another day to rest.  Excuses, excuses.

Today, I was all set to go out for an easy six miles or so.  My hubby was up and we started to talk about stuff (his work, the kids, etc.) and suddenly I realized that I was out of time again.  I didn't feel as bad today.  Kenny has been working insane hours lately and I really miss him.  If the only time we get quality time to catch up is 45 minutes before he goes to work, that is worth missing my run.   It is all a matter of balance.

So here I am on the eve of a planned half marathon.  My foot feels good.  I still feel it, but I don't have any pain.  I hadn't registered for tomorrow's race because I never really committed to it.  I will need to register in the morning.  I'm not keyed up for the race, but I feel I should run it, especially since I only ran three miles all week..  I am feeling less than motivated, so it might be the only way I get in a decent run.  Part of me wants to treat it as any other training run.  Hmmm... $50 for a training run?  I think it is more likely that I will push my self, just a little.   Do I think I can get a PR?  I'm not sure.   I'm not sure I want to push that hard.  I have a sixteen mile progression run on the schedule.  I figured that a half marathon would be equivalent.

So I am hopeful that I feel 100% in the morning.  I am hopeful that my foot doesn't get re-injured.  I am hopeful that I feel strong and confident and finish the race knowing that I could easily have done it twice.



Before I go get my running stuff set out, I wanted to give a shout out to Irish.  She is running the first half of the Goofy Challenge tomorrow in frigid temperatures.  She is running a half marathon tomorrow and then a full marathon on Sunday.  Wow, what a stud.  Good luck!!!  I know you will do great!

I also wanted to give a shout out to my friend Angela's husband, Matthew.  He is running the Disney Marathon on Sunday as well.  Matthew ran his first marathon not long after I ran mine.  I believe he has caught the bug as much as I have.  Good luck, Matthew!  I hope that your wife and son can be there to see you cross the finish line! 

Happy Running, everyone....

Being smart SUCKS

Today is the Coronado 15K. It wasn't going to be a key race for me, but I was looking forward to it. It is a great distance, it is a fun Independence Day event, and several of my friends are running it (their longest race yet for some of them).

I woke up at 4 a.m. (yuck) in order to get there early for good parking and registration. The first thing I noticed was my chest was STILL hurting. It isn't enough to keep me from my daily activities, but it is definitely there. The last few days I have taken some Ibuprofen and it has really helped- the pain goes almost completely away. I know I could have popped 600mg of Ibuprofen and run with no problem.

But then I heard my son's voice from last night, "Mom, I hope your heart is ok for your race."* He is so sweet. I suddenly realized that I needed to stay healthy... not just for me, but even more for those amazing kids. What if running a race made my pain get worse (like it did on Tuesday)? What if, God forbid, running causes something really bad to happen-- I still don't even know what is wrong (I know that I am being a bit dramatic here). I remembered my training and articles I have read, that said how dangerous it is to run after taking Ibuprofen.**

Then I tried to think about what I would say to someone who I was coaching. If a friend called, described these symptoms and asked if she should run this race, what would I say. I know that I would say,

"It just isn't worth it. You have taken three days off running and it hasn't improved much. If you run, it is likely you will lose another week. Running after taking 2 or 3 Ibuprofen is just not worth the risk of kidney damage or even failure. Plus, masking pain is not what you want to do... you won't know if your injury is getting worse."

So I e-mailed and texted my friends and wished them good luck. Since I was up, I thought about going with them and cheering them on. But I know myself. I was SO close to running ("just take it easy"*** I told myself) that I knew that if I got down there, I would do it. I would justify, like I was all day yesterday. It wasn't worth testing my weak resolve.

So I am sad. I didn't think I would be. But I am. It is just a silly 15K. My big race in in six weeks. Right now, my chest feels a bit better, so it makes it that much more difficult. I'm sure I'll feel fine as I celebrate the holiday with my kids.

My whine fest is now over.


*My pain is not my heart, but it is in that part of my body.
**http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-286-289-13116-0,00.html
***I am not sure how well I would do "taking it easy" during a race. Heck I couldn't hold back in a marathon, why would I think I would hold back in a 15k?