Well, one week of no running is complete. I’m hoping that taking some time off will help to keep any more injury away, but not allow me to get too far behind in training. I’ve done a lot of thinking, and researching and I think I may have some idea of what happened to me, how it happened, and how this will change my training. So let’s start at the beginning.

I don’t have any medical degree what so ever, but from previous injuries and a few Google searches, my symptoms line up most with peroneal tendinitis. I’m pretty familiar with tendinitis, as it’s something that creeps up every year. With previous issues in my arch, and tendinitis in my knee last year, it makes sense that my left foot joined in. So how did I go from having strong runs to struggling so quickly? Easy, I *probably* put too many miles on my new shoes too quickly. Oops, but that 20 miler was amazing. I also may have been stepping differently to avoid injuring both my knee and arch, so something else had to take the weight and now the pain. My left leg has also felt a little tight lately, so tight muscles lead to possibly  injuries here. I can for sure cancel out over pronating, because I’m in the weird 10% that actually lands evenly on their shoes. You’d think it would  be the opposite for me.

After I pinpointed the possible problem, I had to figure out how to fix it. I knew I’d have to stretch, ice, foam roll and keep my foot elevated as much as possible. Unfortunately that’s easier said than done. I had a full week and barely had any time to relax. I also had a weekend filled with a close friend’s wedding, so my feet were confined to 4 inch heels and lots of dancing. Luckily, the only time I was in real pain, was the end of Saturday night.

So as of right now, the pain is pretty minimal. It’s usually worst in the mornings right after I get out of bed. It hurts a little bit off and on during the day, depending on which shoes I’m wearing, how often I get up and down, and how long I’ve been on my feet. But for the most part, I’d say I’m on the upswing of things. So where does this lead me with the rest of my training? Taking it day by day. With five weeks left, every run is crucial and if I’m in pain, I won’t risk it to hurt my chances of having a strong race.

I still plan on running three days a week to keep my cardio up. I’ll keep those shorter, and try to get to the track two more times. If I can, I’ll keep these runs a day apart so my body doesn’t get beat up running back to back. I also plan to get back into my yoga classes. Now that summer is winding down, and my schedule is almost clear again, I can take time to do some stretching and relaxing once a week. Hopefully this will help to keep me limber and keep the tight muscles to a minimum.

My long runs will be a bit more challenging. I essentially have two more long runs before I begin to taper. This next week is slated for 17 and it will  be followed by 20. I’m a little nervous for these. How I’m feeling on these runs will most likely be the same come race day. I’m hoping to run them with MCRR so I have some distraction from the miles and some support if I need to drop out. Other than that, I’m going to take each run as it’s own. I’m nervous coming back, hoping I gave myself enough time to do a slight recovery, but also concerned I’ve lost too much and will have to start over. I’ve run at least one 20 miler. I know I can do the distance, it just depends on how much pain I can handle. Most importantly, I still plan on being at the start line come September 28th. I’ve worked too hard to let a little set back take me out.