Total Mileage: 26.2
I spent far more time discussing my feet than any normal person should after the whisper run 10k that Sunday. I sent my parents photos, asking if a foot should like “THAT,” I texted my friends and some training buddies spiraling into full resignation that I would not be running a marathon, and I elevated, buddy taped, and iced excessively.
And you know what happened? It started to feel better. I know, I am dramatic. But we all knew that, realistically. I mean, would a non-dramatic person spend several hours every week sitting in front of a computer a week just to tell stories about her runs? Probably not.
Anyway, after having Dad evaluate my foot, he insisted that if it even was a break, it wasn't a bad one. That was all I needed to hear to lace up again on Monday, and try to make up for some of the miles that I felt like I had missed the day before. Dad biked to my apartment, and we headed out for our morning miles. I still don't have a standard running loop established near the apartment like I had by my parent's house, so we just looped up and down various blocks, and I tried to avoid hills as much as possible. I found that the shoes I chose that morning – my New Balance 880 V8s- were not as comfortable for my foot as the Nike Zoom Pegasuses that I had opted for the day before. We kept it to 5 easy miles, and it was huge relief to take off my shoes at the end of the run. I then proceeded to wear my largest sneakers to work, despite their pink color, which is what usually keeps them from being “office shoes.”
I somehow managed to squeak in 7 miles before work on Tuesday, despite the fact that we did not start running until 6:30. Usually to get in that kind of mileage I have to be out the door closer to 6 – I assume that I must have hit some kind of time warp, as I managed to get to work on time and everything. It was another morning of Dad and I making loops of Levittown, this time with him choosing the slightly hillier roads – that's what always happens somehow when Dad takes the directional lead. It's almost like he has gears on his bike or something.....
Anyway, I learned that the larger toe box in my Brooks ghost 10 running shoes made for a slightly more comfortable morning run, but I still kept the pace easy, just grateful that I was getting out there and running, regardless of potentially broken toes.
What happened on Tuesday night? Strength Training! Aren't you all so proud of me for picking things up and putting them down? It is hard to be consistent with cross training, but I feel like it has really helped to keep me strong for running, even if sometimes dragging myself to the gym after work feels like the biggest chore ever, and I contemplate going home and doing real chores instead. If that's not a ridiculous excuse, I don't know what is. Stupidly, I decided to put some planks into our end-of-workout core block. This isn't anything out of the ordinary, but it didn't occur to me that planks may hurt my toe, until I tried to get into plank position, and felt a sharp pain run through my foot. Damn it. We finished up some crunches, I avoided any further activity that meant weight on my toes, and we ended the workout soon after.
Of course, my when I got home after the gym my foot had swollen back up a bit. Splendid foot. Thanks for playing it cool. More ice, more feet up.
Wednesday morning I had no company for my morning run, but still managed to get myself out the door, and even settled into a pretty good pace. I opted for the re-laced Zoom Pegasus 33s that I had work for the whisper run, and used the first mile to take it easy and warm-up. I just kept moving through mile 2, and was surprised when my watch beeped and showed my a 9:06, sweet! My foot felt okay, despite the swelling, and I just tried to keep it consistent. I wound up totaling 5 miles, with an average pace of 9:13. I sometimes surprise myself on morning runs, and this was one of those days where running actually felt natural.
I did something that I probably should of done on Monday that day – made a podiatrist appointment. The resurgence of swelling did not sit well with me, and I just needed to have it checked out, so that I could stop stressing about the damn thing! The doctor scheduled me for the following Monday, and I took to buddy taping my toes for the rest of the week.
On Thursday Desi and I shook up our gym routine, and instead of lifting we opted to get an after work run in. My friend Mike met up with us, and the three of us headed north on the old bethpage trail to get some hills in. Mike and I chatted as we ran, and I was so impressed with how far Mike has come with his running game lately - he has seriously stepped up his game since deciding to run the 2019 NYC marathon, and has officially started his training for the Disney World half in January. He’s come from having to take walk breaks, as we all sometimes do, to being able to hold a full conversation with me while running (and playing pokemon go). The trail runs along the highway, and as we were on the return trip of our out and back run, Mike shouted “CAR!” as we were running. In my split section reaction to his shout, I almost pitched myself into the bushes on the side of the path…. before I realized that he meant “BIKE!” and was just alerting us that a bike was gonna pass us soon, whoops! We got a good laugh out of it at least. Naturally, we ended our run with a jumpshot. What better way to celebrate five miles with friends?
Friday night Mom and I headed out on a roadtrip to Maryland to visit with my cousins for the weekend, and Saturday morning I dragged myself out of bed to get on the hotel treadmill, which turned out to be an awful idea. I got through 4 miles before calling it quits, mainly because my foot was THROBBING! I finished the run and immediately iced it, but man, it was unhappy with me all day! We spent most of the day shopping for a flower girl dress for my little cousin to wear at my wedding, so I was on my feet, and I was limping by the end of the day. Not a great sign.
My intention for Sunday morning was to get a long run in on the treadmill, but since I woke up with my foot still in pain, I decided to hold off on running until after my doctor’s appointment the following day.
It had been a good week at least, even if the weekend runs didn’t go exactly to plan.