25 Days until the Marathon

   I believe a marathon post is due! I didn't post one last week because ....I was sulking. That's the truth.  I was going to attempt to put a positive spin on it, but there it is. So my last long run was suppose to be 18 miles. My running schedule was all off, I had rested my knee the week before and my foot started to hurt out of nowhere and I just knew that the right thing to do was get back on schedule. So I ran 7 miles on Friday and by the end of the run my foot pain had gone away. It was suppose to snow that Sunday, so I decided to get my 18 miles in on Saturday. The loop I run in 6.75 miles long and I usually do that twice and then run circles around town. During the first loop, every time I put my foot down it was like "ow, ow, ow" It hurt but I definitely felt like I could run through it. After the loop, I stepped onto a trail to switch it up a bit and the pain intensified so much that I decided to call it a day. I walked back to the campground. I was so disappointed in myself, I felt like I should have pressed on, but I convinced myself  that  the  18 mile triaging run was not my goal. My goal is to get to save myself for the marathon. I went straight to a Dr Scholls Machine and bought myself a fancy insert, hoping that would fix me. It didn't. That day the pain got worse and as I hobbled around a baseball tournament , I was convinced I was done for. Very upsetting. So I googled everything and looked up podiatrist in my area....In the end I diagnosed myself.
Peroneal tendonitis- Peroneal tendonitis is inflammation of the peroneal tendons which run behind the lateral malleolus or the bony bit on the outside of the ankle causing and swelling on the outer ankle.

The red is where it hurts

   So basically there is a tendon that connects the leg and the foot and it was angry with me. This is an overuse injury that people often trying a new sport or increasing  their activity level repetitiously end up with. The advice was to rest, ice it and stretch it. I of course thought the world was so unfair because I had a schedule to keep. Resting last week would mean that I never raised my mileage past 17 miles before my marathon and that scared me. Would I even be prepared? Then a few things happened.
    I went to the running store, again. I made a close friend with a gal whose name I never thought to ask . She poured on me a wealth of experience and knowledge. I ran on a treadmill while she videotaped it and I was relieved to see that I actually have good form. I'm not doing anything funky with my ankles, not running pigeon toed or inverted . So she sold me moon shoes (at least that's what they look like) They are basically anti- injury shoes that she said people with stress fractures have actually ran races  in them. I have not paid this much for shoes since I wore Creepers in high school and the last pair of Creepers I bought were for my wedding. So I came home with these magical, ugly shoes and renewed hope. She explained to me that with my schedule modified , most likely my body was starting to heal and healing hurts. But she thought I was spot on with my diagnosis and she said even if I didn't run any higher mileage I would still be ok for my marathon.  I had hobbled around  all week and I decided to rest a few more days even though I have my magic shoes which are called Hoka' s. you can read about them here http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/footwear/Sole-Power-Nicolas-Mermoud-Minimalist-Running.html


No one mistakes me for a fashion icon, but this is a tough look for me to sport

    The other really cool thing that happened is that I realized that I miscalculated my training schedule and left otr a whole week before the marathon. This means that I found a whole 7 days extra to train. So even though I missed out on last week, I can still run 20 miles this weekend before I taper my mileage down to rest before the marathon. I was amazed at this oversight!It was so unlike me to make a mistake like that on a carefully , color coded schedule! But  I was OH SO Grateful!
    Last week was rough. I iced my ankle and the whole trailer smelled like tiger balm. I should have done something helpful like cross train or work on my abs but instead I ate a lot of candy and started watching Downtown Abbey. That's what made me feel better. On Friday I ran 4 miles and Saturday I ran 5. Then I rested. I'm hoping to get back into my schedule this week but I'm going to take it easy. My ankle does feel much better and I really do want to run 20 miles this weekend. I wish I had a better update but as of now I am counting down the days til my Marathon and hoping for the best.
That's my little story but how about those runners in Boston yesterday. AMAZING! Talk about inspiring. We all start one mile at a time though, right? Are you going to get out there and get your mile in today? I am.