I know I haven’t been around lately. I warned you that my posts would be sparse. The truth is, I haven’t been running. Last week I was out on a run; I had 7 miles (approximately) planned out. At 3 miles in my left achilles felt a little tight so I stopped, stretched, rubbed, and continued on. At mile 4 I had to stop. My tendon seized up on me. Very strange and this has never happened to me. It was actually a rather mild day and I was down to a thin shirt, no gloves, no hat by mile 2, so I’m not sure about the effects the environment had on me. In any case, I was forced to walk – WALK – 3 miles back to my car. That did not help my tendon feel any better. With each step it felt worse and worse. I even decided to hitchhike back to my car (yes, it was that bad) but couldn’t find any cars to swing my thumb at.
I took the entire week off (this happened on a Tuesday) and skipped any and all thoughts of a weekend run. On Monday I hopped on the treadmill for a very slow (something like 10:30-11:00 minute miles) 15 minutes of running. My tendon felt way better but there was still a tiny little nag going on.
Well. This training isn’t going very well. But, I’m still not too worried about it. I’ve already come to terms with the fact that my Boston debut is not going to be a race, but rather a 26.2 mile long run.
C’est la vie.
Sorry to read this – hope you are feeling back to 100% soon so you can get back on the horse for Boston!
Sorry to hear about your tendon, but it sounds like you have a smart approach. You’ve earned your spot–make sure you get to enjoy it no matter what! Cheering for you over here :) –Alex
New(er) reader, first time commenter…
Bummer about the strain. Injuries suck even more when they show up mid-way thru a run (when you’re conveniently miles from your car). Just wanted to wish you a speedy resolution and send some healing vibes your way!
Ugggg. That sucks. In a way it might take some pressure off though and now you can really just plan on running Boston for fun. I think if I ever run Boston that is what I would do, run it for fun and for the experience. Stop and take pics. Have a beer along the course. Etc.
Although you do still have 11 weeks, which is plenty of time to turn things around and be able to race it, if you want.
Either way, it’ll be a fabulous experience for you!
Like others have already told you, for some strange reason Boston never really works out right the first time around anyway.
I don’t think I’ll ever run a marathon, can’t picture myself standing in line waiting at a porta-potty with the clock ticking, that would drive me nuts, but I respect you and the others that run them.
Sorry to hear about the tendon. RICE, RICE, baby (if you’re not already). Hope it heals up soon.
Ugh!!! I am so sorry to hear this is happening to you. Believe me when I say that I know how you feel and I am going through it myself. I’ve been absent from running and absent from blogging! The longest training run I’ve done for Boston is 13 miles. It is so frustrating…but I am trying to look at the positive. I will not PR at Boston, but I am going to enjoy the experience…and get myself a new jacket!!!
Just to expand the acronym on Theia’s post in case any newer runners stop by here, Rice = Rest, Ice, compression, and elevation.
I know SS knows this, but we don’t want the rookies putting actual bags of rice on their injuries.