Ouchies and new kicks

The Monday after I ran the 14-miler, I went to a class at my gym. A class I normally love, but I came down off the step wrong and hurt my right calf muscle. I continued with my normal training routine on the sore calf. I must have done something to the other ankle. I did the scheduled 15-miler the following weekend and that went fine. Well, the next weekend, my left Achilles' tendon hurt every time I tried to start running. I managed 11 of the 13 miles on my training plan, but I've had a lazy lazy week otherwise. I did the Arc Trainer at my gym on Wednesday and Thursday and ran 2.1 miles with my almost-5-year old on Thursday as well. I decided that maybe the high mileage in the minimalist shoes was causing the problems, so I picked up some new kicks. I still wanted lightweight and a neutral shoe. Here are my new Saucony Catalysts. I'm going to take them for a spin tomorrow.

Of injuries and unplanned rest

I've really cut back on my training. I only ran 10 miles two weeks ago and only 4 last week. I'm usually a super trainer. I follow a plan as closely as I can and I have been doing the intermediate one for the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler. Then, we had a weekend with 2 birthday parties and a sore back for me.

I don't know what I was doing that hurt my back. I had problems standing for more than 20 minutes and spent an entire evening on and off of an ice pack. So, my back was better and then my foot started hurting. I have no idea what went wrong there. I could barely walk, let alone run. I did the 4 miler last week, knowing full well that I shouldn't have. I treated it by extra stretching and rolling it on a water bottle that I had frozen. I think I must have had the beginnings of plantar fasciitis, but it feels much better now, so I haven't been as concerned.

This week, it has felt fine. I've be very careful to wear my most comfy running shoes and I have been wearing sneakers most of the time, even at home. I have a 10-miler scheduled for tomorrow. I guess I will see how that goes.

GOTR 5K and a running break

Yesterday, I was supposed to be a buddy runner for the Girls on the Run 5K. Well, when we got there, I wasn't assigned a girl with whom to run, so I ended up just running with my cousin and her buddy. It was very inspirational to see so many girls running their first 5K. I wish there had been a program like that for me when I was younger. I hope their experience inspires them to keep running.

Okay, so the other part... I am able to stabilize my IT band and run without knee pain. That isn't a problem. I just need to continue to foam roll and stretch. However, my foot pain was getting better until I ran Saturday. I am going to take at least 3 days off of running, maybe 5. Hopefully, I will be able to get the pain in  my foot figured out before then. It feels like muscle and fiber pain on the top of my foot. I don't think it's a stress fracture, but I think I need some time off to see how it heals. I'm going to continue to ice and elevate it. I'm also going to wear my running shoes that are more stiff since it felt decent running the 5K yesterday.

If I don't blog again for a couple of weeks, I want to wish everyone a great holiday season!