Well today was supposed to be my 2nd longest run of marathon training. It was supposed to end after 18 miles. Of course, nothing as gone as it is supposed to lately. I felt pretty good after my three runs this week. I didn't fully run them, but ran far enough.
Today, I didn't even make it to mile 8 before I had to quit. I'm finally getting over my hamstring issue. This time, of course I was done in a new injury to my ankle. It seems like every time I solve one problem, another pops up.
The weather was terrible again. It was dark, cold and rainy. The temperature was in the 40s. I ran slowly and easily at the start, along West River Drive. There was a little wind in my face, but overall I was feeling pretty good.
I wore a jacket, hat, gloves and shorts. At times, that was a bit much. I took my hat off, rolled up my sleeves and took off my gloves all at different times.
On the way out, I slowly caught up to a guy. When I got to Falls Bridge, somehow I lost track of him and ended up passing him. I took off my gloves and dropped one of my Fuel Belt bottles. He ended up passing me back. I followed him most of the rest of the way.
I didn't want to get in a race, but he slowed so much that I eventually caught up and passed him. It was as I was catching him that my problems started. I ran on the gravel part of Kelly Drive. As I ran on the uneven surface, I a felt a couple pains in my ankle. I went back onto the paved path and felt better.
I had to use the bathroom and was planning on stopping at Lloyd Hall to do so and stretch a little too. I was feeling a little sluggish at that point. Then as I got to Boathouse Row, a pain shot through my ankle again. It happened on two consecutive steps and at that point, I knew I had to walk and quit.
I might've been able to continue after some rest, but I elected not to risk it. We'll test it out again on the next run. I didn't want to aggravate it again and be much farther from my apartment. I walked home with no other problems. It was a little sore after a long walk this evening.
I don't know what caused this problem now. Maybe it was wearing my shoes too tight. That seemed to stop my foot issue, but now might've caused this problem.
This has just become so frustrating. I have problem after problem. Maybe it's an issue with my shoes. I don't know, but I can't seem to get past the 8-13 mile range.
I used a Fuel Belt again and I don't think it was as much of an issue this time. I only filled the bottles half full. My hip was a little sore from it, but it didn't seem like a big problem.
I'm trying to be cautious and ran slowly this week. Actually, running a different pace this week might've been a problem too. My muscles had to handle different impacts than they were used to. I don't know what the issue is, but it would be nice to get over it.
I really have to stay positive and just keep plugging away. At this point, I just want to be able to get one 18-20 mile run done in the next two weeks. That's a big physical and mental hurdle before the marathon. I wouldn't mind trying the run/walk technique, but that didn't seem to help much a couple weeks earlier. My sore leg just stiffened up.
I clearly didn't respect the marathon and long distances enough. This has been very humbling. I'd like to think I can still finish the marathon and that I have enough time yet to turn things around. I'm really not sure though. I always read about people running 5 hours marathon and think they're slow. At least they can finish though. I'm not sure I can do that, even if I am faster than them.
Maybe this is all just a big test to see how dedicated I am to running. Last time I got injured, I got frustrated and quit. I plan on being in it for the long haul now. I'm not a quitter now. It's going to take a lot more then this to stop me.
I just have to keep going. Tomorrow, I'll try to make up for today. I'm going to bike long again, rather than just an hour ride. I'm going to try to keep next week normal, but we'll have to see. They say that you should have a year of base running done before a marathon and now I see why. I'll be much stronger as I head into the spring marathon. Now it's just a game of survival.
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