This is a hard post to write.
My last post was nine days ago – which is inexcusable – and in it I spoke of some pain that I was dealing with in my left foot and lower leg. I self-diagnosed peroneal tendonitis and hypothesized that it was new shoes that were giving me the problem.
Well – I’m not sure if it was the shoes, but I know that the tendonitis, it is real. After a rest I did a couple of runs on my old Beasts, and things were fine. And then on the third run I felt things tweak, and afterward I was back to not really being able to comfortably walk. The pain, which started on the side of my foot, now follows a path from my foot, back around my ankle, and all the way up to the base of my calf. Those areas are by turns sore or downright painful, and when they aren’t those things they just feel weak. Something is not right, and the only way I know to make it better is rest.
The timing could not be worse. I’m registered for a half marathon on May 18th, and I’m not even close to trained for it. Given that right now I’d be nervous about running 2 miles, that race is all but ruled out. This will be the first time I’ve been unable to run a race I’ve registered for.
Yeah – I’m not feeling great about that.
I’m not sure what I want to do about the streak. May is a month that is full of shorter race opportunities, including a race about 10 minutes from the house that I did last year. The way my summer / fall schedule shakes out should allow me to basically take 2 or 3 weeks off and then start at the very beginning of a half-marathon training schedule to prepare for the Freeport Half Marathon on September 7th. Anything I do in May will have no purpose other than extending the streak … but I think I’m OK with that.
I’m learning that injuries suck.
I don’t intend to go away – there are several posts that I’ve got in mind. But for awhile I won’t be running.
<sigh>
A Constant State of Hunger 
So sorry to hear about your tendonitis. I have had the same thing and kept running on it and boy was that a mistake. I have a picture of my foot so swollen we thought I broke it. I will add that one full week off of it, with ice, and cross friction massage did wonders and I was able to get back quickly. Wrapping it will also keep the inflammation from increasing. Hope you are back and it soon!
Thank you … it is absolutely a bummer, and it helps quell the doubt to hear stories like this. Ice and wrapping is on the agenda – and I also hope I’m back at it soon.
Sorry to hear about your injury! But you are doing the right thing in backing off. You could also email the race organizer and see if you can defer your entry til next year. I did that when I had to miss a half last year due to bursitis. My advice is to crosstrain and go see a physiotherapist. It sucks but you will come back and run again.
Good pieces of advice both. I’ve contacted the race director about a deferment, and I have an appointment with a sports doc on Tuesday morning. Thanks for the input … the goal now is to not blow up the fall race season.
It’s tough. I have some foot pain at the moment and am trying to take my own advice and take it easy. But I want to run so badly!
Injuries really do suck … I’m just now able to run/walk after 7 weeks of waiting on the sidelines with a stress fracture. I had signed up for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon but gave away my bib number to someone who could run since I couldn’t. Hang in there!
Thank you! I’m starting to see the light at the end of this tunnel … just hope it isn’t a train …