Sunday, September 12, 2010

On Mild Discomfort and Other Adventures

Week 11 has presented its share of challenges, but I am still in this.

This week's short runs were glorious. The crispness of fall is settling in, and I've actually needed to wear the cute little wind breaker that I picked up at Target a few weeks ago. Cooler temperatures mean great runs. On Wednesday, I ran from my place down to the Mall and back. No complaints there.

On Thursday, I followed the trails l to Georgetown and ran around the area for a bit before heading back to my apartment. I didn't stretch as thoroughly as I usually do. I'm not really sure why, but it doesn't have anything to do with the article that I posted about stretching a few days ago. I think I was just very excited. When I started to run downhill towards the trail, I started to feel discomfort in my right leg (around the lower end of the tibia). With each step, I felt it. I didn't really think about it and even thought that it was a great idea to push my limits a bit. When I got home, I felt the pain in my leg simply walking barefoot in my apartment. I iced it and went to bed. The minute that I stepped onto the floor the next morning, the pain was so much worse and I spent a while limping around my apartment. The choices were: 1. call the doctor and make the trip up or 2. suck it up and go to work. I chose two, and even walked the mile to the Rite Aid to pick up an ace bandages and athletic tape before heading into the office. During the day, the discomfort wore off but walking down flights of stairs was still a problem.

I made a decision to take the day off from training on Friday in hopes that things would be better for my long run on Saturday. I woke up, walked around a bit, felt some discomfort, but decided to take it slow and run anyway. Once I started to run, everything seemed okay okay. I ran 12 miles as slow as I possibly could without feeling like I was walking and made sure to stay on soft surfaces whenever I could. After the run, I felt okay. There was the usual feeling of exhaustion that comes after a long run, but it wasn't anything a warm bath and rest couldn't fix. When I woke up this morning for my last short run, I felt the pain again. More limping, applying ice, and deciding that running wouldn't be the best move. Instead, I tried the elliptical and strength training -- if only to feel like I was doing something other than sitting on the couch. It went pretty well, and I've tried my best to rest today. At the moment, everything feels okay but I'm still going to give myself some time to see what happens.

So, assuming that I wake up tomorrow and can move around my apartment without doing my best Charlie Bit My Figure impression, the schedule for this week looks like this:

Monday: Strength train/stationary bike
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: Off, mental preparations and pasta party for one
Saturday: 20 miles
Sunday: 3 miles

As of tomorrow, there will be 33 days between me and race day. Bring it!

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