After Thursday's run, I came down with a mild stomach flu. It wasn't bad enough to stay home from work on Friday (I probably would have if I wasn't a teacher, but putting together sub plans takes forever, and I figured with some Advil, I could survive the day), but bad enough that I decided to skip my Saturday run of 7 miles. On Sunday, after 3 days of needed rest, I was ready for my long run of 18 miles. So, I headed to the gym to run it on the treadmill. Yeah, you heard it correctly; 18 miles on the treadmill. My stomach was still feeling a little queasy so I figured if I needed to use the bathroom, it would be right there waiting for me, and I wouldn't have to worry about being 8 miles from home.
I ran at an easy pace, 9:40/mile, and watched the World Baseball Classic on ESPN: Dominican Republic vs. Panama. It's amazing how you get so interested in something that you really don't care about, when you are bored to death! My brother came by the gym around mile 5 and we ran side by side for the next 5 miles. Then the pain in the bottom/lateral side of my left foot started acting up. Each step produced a slightly more dulling pain that didn't go away. At mile 11, I knew that I probably should ditch the idea of going the full 18 miles. My legs felt fine and my breathing was okay. I tried running one more mile to see if the pain would subside, but it didn't. In fact, I had to change my running gait a little, which is a sure sign to stop. So, I hopped off at mile 12.
I had a similar pain last year when training for my first marathon; it was probably from ramping up the miles too quickly. I have a feeling that it's the same this time around. My plan is to rest it for a few days, cross-train and see how it feels on Wednesday. If everything feels great, I'll continue on my training, otherwise I'll rest some more. The good thing is that I planned an extra week for my training, knowing that I would probably need it for either injury or sickness. I guess this is the week to use it!
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Hey Joe,
ReplyDeleteSorry you're feeling ill and that your foot started hurting. Those little pains really make you worry when you're faced with running the kind of miles you're ramping up too. Glad you're playing it smart and giving it the rest you need. The long runs you've been putting in has been very impressive and inspiring! Your blog posts have helped to not give up on the April marathon and make more of an effort to train for it. I managed to put in runs of 6, 6, 9, and 12 miles this week. Hopefully I can keep it up. So take the rest you need, but keep on running and blogging - I love reading 'em!
Take care,
Gary
Hey Gary,
ReplyDeleteGreat running week - 33 miles! It sounds like you're back in the swing of things. Thanks for your comments - you're one of my few faithful readers that keeps me blogging!
YIKES 18 miles on the treadmill would make me hurt too. Great job listening to your body and resting and stopping when you need to. I hope it goes away after some rest!
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