and that means that the B.A.A Half Marathon is in exactly one month! Wow! That's terrifying!
So my training has not gone as I planned for a variety of reasons (moving across the country, etc.) But since moving to Ann Arbor I have gotten out on regularly scheduled runs and they have been feeling pretty good. My mileage isn't where i want it to be, but I am feeling pretty confident. Or, at least, I was until this past Monday when we went out for a hike in the Arboretum with visiting Danna. It was not a strenuous hike, nor was it meant to be, but afterwards I felt some pain in my left foot. I chalked it up to pain from wearing sandals on a 5-mile walk, and went about my life. The pain in my foot has not gotten better over the last 5 days, so I was starting to get a little nervous. Pain in my foot is one thing, but not getting in my runs before this half marathon is another. I hated missing that many days of running; each day that went by without a run made me more and more anxious. But I didn't want to push it, knowing I was injured, so I took a couple days off.
This morning, as I was sipping my coffee and catching up with the internet, I checked the weather and it was a runner's dream day: cloudy and 55 degrees. Man! This is what I've been waiting for since like...April. So I started to get ready for my run, planning on doing 5 miles. I ignored the pain in my foot as I went up and down the stairs, because I am a baby, and I tend to exaggerate things. I figured this was just another excuse I was using to not run. Yes, my foot hurt, but did it really hurt so much that I couldn't go for a little run? I am so used to making excuses for myself and really believing them. So I chose not to do that this morning. I put on my sneakers and headed out for a 5-miler, on a hilly course (unavoidable in this town) that would bring me through downtown and up to the parks around the river, just north of town. Well mile 1 went really well. It was mostly uphill, but with showtunes and my determination, it was faster than my average mile. Mile 2 was all uphill, but it went OK, until I stopped for a minute to take a picture of the river. As soon as I stopped, shooting pains starting pulsing through my foot, and I had to sit down. Well crap. I was 2 miles from home and the tendons in my foot felt like they were going to explode. Cool! So my options were to walk 2 miles, run 2 miles, or sit and cry until Jeff came and found me. Well, I ran another mile, stopping every so often, and then I limped the last mile home. And now I'm going to go have my foot x-rayed.
One month to go!
It is always so important to listen to your body when you are injured. But so often I just try to push throught it too…I hope your foot is feeling better soon!