Monday, May 5, 2008

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

That's about the fifth title I have come up with for this post. I initially started out with "Forgiving The Distance", an apology for badmouthing the 15k distance for so long, but I think it has once again betrayed me. So, to the Gods of Running Karma, I have to sacrifice my ankle.

It started out a pretty great race - I felt awesome as the Disney Women Run The World 15k started out. I hated running the off- and on-ramps due to hip issues, but they were short and I plowed through them. I was never horribly tired, and per my trusty Timex I finished in 2:00:51, about a good 7:01 faster than the Gate River Run! (My official time of 2:03:10 includes a bathroom stop). Afterwards, I felt pretty good, well enough to fight my way through the Epcot crowds to ride Soarin' (which, due to said crowds, we only end up riding about once a year.) Then, we headed to the hotel to check out, and off to Magic Kingdom.

That's where the distance decided it wanted revenge.

I will admit I am the world's worst about stretching. I know my calves get tight and I do very little to prevent or treat that. (Save for my amazing massage therapist and my Marathon Stick!) Well, this time, I am mega-tight in the lower calf area. I walked towards T'n'T (Ticketing and Transportation, for you non-Disney addicts out there) and I felt some soreness in the ankle and kind of going down into my foot around the side.


I have plantar fasciitis to beat the band, but it more manifests itself in my mid-foot, right down the middle (most people have heel pain - I can't decide if they're luckier or not). This was kind of on the side, so I didn't really think it was related. After trekking it around the MK, I ended up at First Aid getting Tylenol, ice, and an Ace bandage. I put the ice on my ankle, but it didn't seem that it was helping there. So, I put it further down on my foot. That hit the spot. Throughout the rest of the day I noticed that the more weight I put on it, the worse it got. This morning I decide to hit Google and I think this is it: Peroneal Tendon...sprain? Maybe? (Another site with this info here.)

So I am going to start my Marathon training two weeks late, while I take a nice (gag) two weeks off to R.I.C.E. the heck out of this thing, get an ankle brace, hit the anti-inflammatories, STAY OFF MY ANKLE, and, if it comes to that, pay a visit to the sports medicine doc. (Yippee! Not.)

This, however, is so not stopping me from registering for the inaugural Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon. But it might keep me out of 15ks for a pretty long while... How come I can do 13.1 miles without any problem but 9.3 miles just gives me fits every time?

1 comment:

Runner Leana said...

Congrats on your great time at the 15K! Sorry I missed meeting up with you before the race, but I am glad that we had a chance to meet at the 5K!