4 days

My first half marathon is in 4 short days

I will decide today if I will be running the race or pulling out of it. I am awaiting the call from the doctors office with the x-ray results. I am very optimistic because the last 48 hours of ice, rest, and of course the steroid shot have worked wonders. Honestly I am itching to go out and run right now. Instead I will sit her with more ice and more rest with cell phone in hand waiting for the call. I am thinking it is going to be a good outcome.

Bad news is BAD NEWS

I went to the doctor last night to see if there was anything they could do about my foot injury. He thinks that it could be one of two things, Retrocalcaneal bursitis which is swellin g and inflammation of the bursa.

He treated me for this right in the office with a HUGE cortisone injection which has made the bottom of my foot and 4 of my toes completely numb. Most of the horrible pain I was feeling from the injury has gone way, but I am having trouble walking because of the incredible numbness.

The doctor also said there is a chance it may be a stress fracture on the top of the calcaneus bone. He has ordered an x-ray which I am terrified to go get because if there is any type of fracture then running the half marathon this weekend is completely out of the question.

Why now? This has been so heartbreaking for me. I have trained so long and hard for this. Mentally I feel like I have been training for this my whole life. I have never been this motivated about exercise and fitness. The confidence I had a few days ago is slowly slipping away from me. I am trying to stay positive but it is hard. I still have faith though that things will improve within the next 5 days.

Uh oh...

Taper week for me was supposed to look like this:
Monday - 5 miles
Tuesday - cross training
Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - cross training
Friday - 3 miles
Saturday - rest
Sunday - HALF MARATHON

INSTEAD it looks like this:
Monday - 5 miles (foot / ankle injury during the run)


What timing.
Who knows what the rest of the week will look like now.
If I have to hobble down the race route I will be running on Sunday.
Hoping the rest, ice, compression, and elevation heals me up soon.

Re- Fueling

It has taken me awhile to figure out which electrolyte replacement gel works best for me. I have tried several. I prefer something lower in sugar and calories but higher in carbohydrates to give me that burst of energy I am craving. I have found my favorite...



These gels are made from complex carbs and, in combination, are flavoured with real fruit. I really love that they do not feel thick and gooey in your mouth like most energy gels.

Old Dominion Trail

There is a 45+ mile trail that goes from Purceville, VA to Arlington. I was out there this past week visiting my sister and it is AMAZING!!! I would move there just so I could do all my running on this trail. It is all paved, very wide, no cars allowed, tons of runners, tons of bikers, tons of walkers, some mild hills, tons of trees, some shady areas, some sunshine... PERFECTION!!!!

I only ran 10 miles of it. WOW! I wanted to run for days. It was amazing. Peaceful and exhilarating all at the same time.

***WARNING***
Bring your cell phone with you just in case you get carried away and run a few miles past where you parked your car and then get lost like I did. :)

The dreaded treadmill

Just for the record...
I HATE THE TREADMILL!!!!!!!
With all the rain out here on the East Coast this week and my first half marathon only 11 days away I had no choice. I headed to the apartment gym to pound out 4 miles on the treadmill.
My 3 year old even joined me. Look at how far she went walking on the treadmill in rain boots...




She was so proud of herself!!! She wants to be a runner like Mommy and that makes me so happy. It makes me feel like I am being such a good example to her. Just another reason to keep on running.

Running Shoes...

Last Saturday I ran 12 miles. I felt really good. When I got home I had this horrible ache in the arch and side of my foot so I iced it and tried to ignore it the rest of the weekend. Monday morning I headed out for a 7 mile run. Well I got about half way through the run and the ache had turned into a piercing pain that I could NOT ignore. I called my hubby to come pick me up. I immediately knew what the problem was. My shoes..

Typically a running shoe should last 300 - 500 miles. After adding up the calculations (thanks to my Nike+ sensor) I realized I have close to 700 miles on these shoes. Time for a new pair ASAP!!! I frantically called every running store from Pennsylvania to Virginia looking for the shoes that I have LOVED running in. After 2 days of calling around I found them!!! I drove immediately to get them. Once I put them on I instantly knew the support in the pair I had been running was shot! I am so glad I purchased a new pair. The tread on the bottom of my shoes is almost completely gone in some areas.




What a difference a shoe can make. I just hope this ache in my foot goes away before race day. I LOVE my Brooks Dyad running shoes!!!!! Lucky for me they just came out with this new fun color last month too.