My First Marathon
Marathon Training: Week 18
Monday: Rest.
My legs are still not feeling quite right. I’m not sure what the deal is, but the pain in my Achilles has really picked up today. I took a rest day for good measure.
Tuesday: 5 miles.
I not-so-wisely chose to run 5 miles of hills today, which has spurred my Achilles into full-on attack mode. I really hope this pain goes away by tomorrow. I’m too close to M-Day for injury!
Wednesday: Rest.
I woke up this morning and could barely walk around. After hobbling to the kitchen, I decided that, not only would it hurt to run, it could be very detrimental to my Achilles. I’m really nervous about this pain, and I really hope it doesn’t affect my training or my race.
Thursday: 8 miles.
My Achilles felt a little bit better this morning, but, just to be safe, I decided not to run my long run this weekend. I’ll move my final 20 miler to next weekend, just to be safe. I also may take tomorrow off, just to give my Achilles a bit of an extra break. Even though taking this unscheduled time of rest is mentally tough, my foot is telling me that I need it, so I have to listen.
Friday: Rest.
Saturday: 5 miles.
I ran a little over 5 miles. I took it easy on pace and avoided too much incline to make sure my Achilles is ready to fully resume training.
Sunday: 9 miles.
It was a little disappointing to not run my 20 miler as planned this weekend, but I’m so grateful that my Achilles is no longer hurting. I’m so ready to get back into the marathon swing of things!
Total: 27 miles.
Conclusion: It can be really frustrating to take time off, whether for injury, sickness, or due to the craziness of life, and I’m so glad that my Achilles was no more than a temporary injury. In the middle of the week, I became very disheartened that it would become a long-term injury, hindering my ability to finish the marathon—I’m so glad to say that that this doesn’t seem to be the case!