Unintentional rest day

It’s not a winter without an illness.

I’m reluctant to admit that I’m sick, because I’m just not someone who gets sick. I’ll have a spell of some sort once a year, maybe, but I’m more likely to be taken down by a depressive slump than a physical ailment.

So I’m pretty bad at recognizing them when they come along. I try to explain them away, lying to myself about how it was just something I ate, or maybe I’m just not dressed warmly enough.

Yesterday’s 10-mile run became 5 miles, and I’m still a little cranky about it. I couldn’t regulate my body temperature at all; I was rapidly overheating, but removing my gloves or replacing my hat with a buff gave me nasty chills. I found myself running small loops, so as not to find myself too far from a porta-potty. By the time I rolled over the halfway mark of my intended run, the sun was already low on the horizon and I’d been out for more than an hour and a half.

I told myself, as I sat bundled and still-too-cold on the couch, logging my mileage, that I’d make up my miles this morning, then run my Wednesday mileage in the afternoon. I crawled into bed shortly after 8pm with great intentions.

The good news is that there’s no fever. But there’s definitely no running. Body aches, tummy rumblings, and that lingering feeling of being cold are keeping me indoors.

Hoping that my diligence today (and a few long sleeps) will set me right for tomorrow’s run, but barring a complete turn-around, I won’t be able to rustle up my lost miles. A shame, because this was meant to be a 40-mile week, and that’s a big mental hurdle for me. It would have been nice to conquer.

Such is life. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery!

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!

My first run of the year was cut short this morning by a brand new injury, but instead of dwelling on the possibility of piriformis syndrome, it seems like a good time to look ahead to what’s coming for me in 2016.

Compared to last year’s ambitions, I have only a handful of races on my schedule so far for the coming year. My hopes are high for my marathon, and I’ve chosen a more advanced training program this year than I’ve had in the past. The volume and intensity are going to be a stretch, so the race schedule is light.

My first races are scheduled for late February in Nevada, a pair of trail 10Ks in the morning and evening of the same day. Depending on my training and my fitness, I can change the distance of these, from 5K to Marathon, but the 10K is a safe distance that I can reliably complete without much stress.

In the following months, I have trail 10Ks in April and May, coinciding with recommended 10K races in my marathon training program. The program recommends an additional 10K race in May, on a weekend I’ll be volunteering at a big race my husband hopes to run, so the jury’s still out on what I’ll accomplish that weekend.

June 5th is my marathon, the focal point of my spring, and two weeks later will be a local half marathon. The half will be for fun; hopefully I’ll manage to PR, as my previous times have been pretty soft, but it’ll still be firmly in the recovery period after my marathon, so I’ll take what I can get.

My next scheduled race isn’t until September, when I’ll likely participate in the same one-mile race I did in 2015. I’ll head back over to Wisconsin to run my first 24-hour race – the same place I did my 28-mile run last year – and I’m hoping to break 100K over the course of those 24 hours.

And then, to wrap up the year, I’m considering revisiting the 50K I did last fall. As with many of my PRs, the time I achieved in October was very soft, and I have loads of room for improvement. I’d like to test myself back at the same course I did the first time around before I move onto other 50K possibilities.

So, that’s the plan! Focal points are the marathon, the 24-hour run, and my 50K revenge. I’ve laid out my calendars and my training logs, gold star stickers ready to be adhered to every successful day. Marathon training is going to be brutal, an exercise in both physical and mental endurance. Classes resume in a week, my last clinical begins in April, and I graduate in May. Last year, I managed a handful of 35+ mile weeks before being sidelined by injury. By contrast, this year’s training plan begins at 30+ mpw, and all five weeks of my clinical experience will be spent at 50+ mpw. I have no idea how I’ll manage all of this, but I’m sure going to try.

2016 will be a reality check. I’m ready for it.

On the mend! (I hope.)

After my last triumphant post about one of the most worthwhile miles I’ve run in recent memory, I had a setback. Some pains manifested mid-week, and my husband emphatically informed me that I needed to get an MRI.

What I think he really meant was that I needed to put up or shut up. I chose the latter. After a few days of rest, I hit the trails on Saturday for an intended long-ish, slow-ish wander. I won’t even call it a jog, because I fully intended to walk as much as I darn well pleased, with no agenda other than miles.

It’s meager, but the 4.4 pain-free miles I logged on Saturday were a victory. They were two minutes slower than my typical cruising pace, but I didn’t care. I was out there for an hour, on my favorite, familiar trails. It was awesome.

Aside from my injury, my schedule has been shaken up with the addition of a volunteer gig I have two evenings a week. These evenings fall on my rest days, but they involve walking. Hours of non-stop walking on sandy, uneven terrain while wearing unsupportive boots.

I love the barn, but it’s murder on the feet.

The soles of my feet were so tender when I got home on Monday night that I knew Tuesday’s run was out. I resolved to do it today. I promised.

I was stubbornly flopped on the bed this afternoon when my husband asked me if I wanted to go and do my run. “No.” But should you? “…Yes.”

How easy it is to get out of the habit of something I genuinely love.

So it was out to run this afternoon. I didn’t go far, only about 2.5 miles, but it was successful. No pain, just a bit of discomfort from stretching out the foot. Now that I seem to have a handle on the pain, I’ll need to be sure to get some massage and stretching into my routine.

And that’s that. Pain seems to be improving, foot seems to be stabilizing. Movin’ on up.

Two weeks post-diagnosis

It’s been a very long, very boring two weeks since I received my sesamoiditis diagnosis. The majority of these two weeks has passed without incident; as long as I’m not doing one of the few things that provokes pain, it’s easy to forget about. Walking and cycling have been successful, and I’m happy for that.

My intent is to give my foot another week before trying to jog, which will probably put me firmly back at square one. With only 10 weeks to marathon at that point, it’s nearly guaranteed that I won’t be able to finish. I don’t intend to scratch entirely unless I’m still injured; my husband will still be running, and we’re traveling out of town for the occasion. So while I likely won’t finish my second marathon, I’m excited to start it!

Stay positive, stay smart. That’s the name of this game. Injuries suck, but this one won’t keep me down.

Hitting the pause button

All plans of training yesterday were called off when an odd ache in the bottom of my foot turned into a burning, raging pain within three minutes on the treadmill. Even the stationary bike caused too much discomfort to continue for more than 15 minutes or so. I’m hoping it’s just a bruise, though I suspect a ligament sprain is more likely given the manner in which it hurts.

Meanwhile, it’s rest and ice. Woe.

I have just under a month until my half marathon, which may or may not happen, given the state of things. If I’m not feeling up to some brisk walking this weekend, I’m hoping I’ll at least be capable of hitting the bike.

I can’t complain too much; this is my first appreciable injury in many, many months. That figure alone tells me I’m doing something right this time around. So we go forward.