Two Weeks to Marathon

So, my car isn't squealing anymore. That's about the only good news I have for this post.

I started my final 20 mile run this morning on the treadmill. I had never done that before, so it was kind of an experiment. It was just too cold and dark for me this morning (I know, I'm a wimp). I had a nice, new pair of shoes that I was breaking in. I had everything ready to go. The first 7 miles were great. I felt really strong and I wasn't going insane on the treadmill. Around mile 7 the right side of my right foot started hurting. I ignored it, because pain comes and goes all the time while I run--even in short runs. Well, the pain slowly got worse and worse--enough to force me to hobble. After a good mile or so of this, I was getting really frustrated. Everything else was feeling fine. I can handle a little pain, but this just kept getting worse. So, I got off the treadmill and switched to another pair of shoes. Ooh, it got worse. I was really gritting my teeth and trying to breath through the pain. It wasn't working.

After a few man growls, I slapped the stop button on the treadmill (I hate doing that!), stomped off, grabbed a bottle of ibuprofen, threw a couple in my mouth, gave out another man growl, and stomped back onto the treadmill. I was going to finish this run if it killed me. So, the pain kept getting worse and I finally allowed myself to try to walk it off until the ibuprofen kicked in. I was now limping as I walked. Not good.

At mile 10, I picked up the phone and called Dad. With a quivering voice, I said, "Um, Dad... my foot hurts. I can't run." He told me all the right things. Since I literally couldn't run anymore, he told me that my body was probably just telling me that I need to rest. He said two weeks before a marathon is a really good time to rest, so don't push it. I thought I might try finishing the run later tonight, but it's hurting just walking around the apartment. So, I'll probably keep off of it for a while. After I got off the phone with Dad, I remembered that I had this same issue during training for my last marathon. The pain first showed up during work, though--not on a run. I remember I had to take a few days off of running, and then finally the pain just went away on its own. It was never an issue again. So, I'm hoping this is the same thing. I really want to complete the marathon in two weeks. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday, Dad!