Training update 3/1-3/22
It turns out when my PTT flairs up, I give up on writing these updates. Which is sad because my life doesn’t stop, I don’t stop training, it just looks a little different.
So here it is, in all of its injury-interrupted glory:
3/2-8
I started March feeling pretty good. I had a solid plan for how I was going to slowly ramp up my mileage in time for the 10k I’m “racing” in April. I wasn’t worried about only having a month to go, and my body was handling the slow increase in mileage well.
Until it wasn’t.
Between a lot of balance work at CrossFit and the “extra” distance I was running, my feet fought back. I had started the week of 3/2 feeling strong with an accidental 3.5 mile run (I was shooting for 2.5-3). I followed that up with a CrossFit workout that had a lot of overhead work, and I never really bounced back. My short run on Thursday went alright, but after doing the 15.2 CrossFit Open workout that Friday, my feet were toast on Saturday for my “long” run. I had 4 miles on the schedule, but within a few steps my feet were killing me. I hobbled home after less than a mile and proceeded to feel sorry for myself for the rest of the day.
3/9-15
I accepted (mostly) the sate of my feet and took the week off from running. I did my best to reduce the strain I put on my feet at CrossFit by cutting out jumping and going a bit lighter on weights so I didn’t have to drive as much through my calves or struggle to stay balanced.
I also spent the time I would have been running working on my olympic lifts and strengthening my feet and hips to help stabilize everything when I run. Glute bridges, side steps with a band, ankle exercises with a band, and calf raises are all the rage these days.
3/16-22
I started hesitantly running again. I’m still playing around with pacing, distance, and even taping my ankle/arch to figure out the best way to move forward. I did another whopping 7.8 miles for the week, but I didn’t get pain while I was running, which seems like a win if you ask me. I made it through my “long” run of 3 miles without incident and even woke up feeling alright the next morning. I’m calling it progress.
The real bummer of the week was the discovery that yoga is definitely contributing to my PTT symptoms. All of the balance on bare feet kills me. My arch can’t support itself well enough, and all of that tugging on my tendons gives me pain that starts in my feet and keeps going up my ankles. I have been taping my ankle and arches when I go to class, but it’s still not enough. I’m going to take a few weeks off to let my body calm down before I try it again (modifying poses of course to reduce the tugging on my inflamed tendons). Fingers crossed it works and I can run all three days this week.
