Monday, November 10th:
5:10am, 34 degrees, 87%, calm. Kilmer Loop. Adidas Glide 6 Boost.
6mi (48:46) (8:08/mi)
My right peroneal felt a little fluky, like it wanted to click at times during the run. Aside from that, everything else felt smooth. Last two miles were 7:53 48. Think it was mostly just the cold early AM temps.
Tuesday, November 11th:
Rest. I almost can't believe I am typing this. But despite seeming to do EVERYTHING right in my buildup, I have suddenly come down with some peroneal tendinitis in my right ankle. No funny step, no symptoms before yesterday's run, no sign whatsoever. I felt GREAT both Saturday and Sunday. I have NO IDEA why this is now happening.
Thankfully, it's mild and I have no symptoms at all walking, lifting my legs, climbing stairs, etc. It only manifests at certain "angles" when I am pushing off/running. I even did about a 1/4mi on my treadmill at a 5% incline at a casual jog with no symptoms. But as soon as I brought the incline down, I could feel it again.
The good news is, if the marathon was tomorrow, I feel I could physically run on it without it holding me back, much like Monday's run went. If it was severely inflamed afterward no biggie, because I am planning on an extended break anyway. But I am afraid that any actual running on it right now is only going to make it that much worse between now and the race. So I need to straddle the line of doing too much to worsen the condition and too little that I lose significant fitness.
I am hoping that simple rest over a couple days will do the trick. For now, I'll take it day by day and remain optimistic that my fitness is extremely high, that this forced rest is just a blessing in disguise, and that everything will still go great on race day.
Wednesday, November 12th:
Rest. Saw Holli, my massage therapist, for her to work on the area. She was as confounded as I was. I was irrationally tight all over my right side - my hip flexor, piriformis, IT band, peroneals - she said it was almost like there was some catastrophic event that threw my ankle joint out of line causing the peroneal tendon to "rub" upon pronation and causing all the other links in the chain to get congestion. Felt a little relief on leaving, but I plan on resting for at least a few more days.
Thursday, November 13th:
Rest. Did a lot of solo stretching of my hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, and calves. Did some mild rolling along the IT band. Hoping that these little things will be enough in a few days. I know that physiologically you don't lose any aerobic fitness with even 5 days off. It's just falling out of the continuity and routine of daily running that has me out sorts. If I can get in a few test runs between now and the race I'll feel much better.
Friday, November 14th:
9:00am, 43 degrees, 44%, 5-10mph. Treadmill, Neighborhood. Asics DS Trainer 18.
2mi total: .75mi on treadmill at various inclines and speeds, .5mi in neighborhood (.25mi@7:00 pace, .25mi@6:17 pace), .75mi on treadmill easy (8:00 pace)
Got in some more good stretching and rolling this morning. Decided to test things out. Ankle felt fine the whole way, had very mild IT tightness on that right side but nothing that impaired the running. Was amazed how easy and smooth those short, faster segments outside felt.
Saw Holli again today for a brief session to inspect everything again. Hip flexor was way looser, practically good as new. Ankle/achilles/soleus had very little congestion, the IT band still had some decent tight spots between the knee and halfway up my quad. After about 20 minutes, Holli gave me the clear saying I should be good to go.
Tempting as it is to run some more today, I am going to heed Holli's advice to wait until tomorrow to resume regular easy running. Even then, she cautioned that I may have some IT/quad soreness from today's session.
I am very optimistic that if things continue to improve, I will be fully ready and 100% to go by race day. What a relief after the last few days!
5:00pm, 39 degrees, 42%, 5-10mph. 2x Neighborhood Loop. Asics Kayano 19.
4mi (31:36) (7:54/mi)
Okay, okay. So I couldn't resist temptation or heed Holli's advice. I was itching to go. I am glad I did. It was supremely calming to be running again. I am not sure if it was just the feeling of being back out on the road, or running at night, or running in shorts and gloves in the cold weather, or the feeling of effortless breathing...but it was so relaxing, and reassuring, and peaceful. Knock wood, but I feel like a sailor back on calm seas, having survived the worst of the storm and thankful that I came out the other end the better for it. Let's see how I feel tomorrow. :)
Saturday, November 15th:
8:00am, 34 degrees, 59%, 5-10mph. Moorestown. Asics Kayano 19.
8mi (1:01:54) (7:43/mi)
Group conversational pace with Rich, JP, Tom, and Ralph. Felt very comfortable the whole way. Ankle seems to be getting stronger each run.
Sunday, November 16th:
8:30am, 37 degrees, 50%, 5-15mph. Moorestown. Adidas Glide 6 Boost.
11.5mi (1:26:56) (7:34/mi)
Everything about today was a little funky, but I still put together a decent run. Met Tom and JP at JP's house and did a NE loop of Moorestown. My legs felt heavy most of the way, I had to stop and pee about 5mi in, the weather just seemed odd - still, I ran at a decent clip and had no symptoms with the ankle so I can't complain. Real taper time from here!
Weekly Total: 31.5 miles
Definitely not the week I had initially planned but I'll take it. One week to go! Now it's just a matter of lacing up the shoes and seeing what I got.
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