Thanksgiving runs and coming back from injuries

Well, after the OC 100k, I had been dealing with peroneal tendonitis in my left foot and after that ended, some left hip pain.  I ran the Freeze your Gizzard 5k in Leesburg, VA on the 23rd of November with Zach.  He did really well running a 29:12 - I paced him the whole way with an aching left hip.  After coming back from foot tendonitis, I ramped up a tad to quickly in the wall squat/lunge department inflaming something b/c it hurt like a bitch....so, I took a few days off and tried to rub it out...nope, no better....so I didn't run which sucked and figured I would take this week off.  However, yesterday, ran 2.5 with Heather here in New Castle, PA and it felt pretty good so I figured I would pace her at the Wobble Gobble 5k in Hermitage, PA.  Last year, I won my age group and figured I could do the same if I was healthy but I decided to run very easy.  We wake up this morning and its a steamy 9F degrees..Get to Buhl Park, get our bibs and shirts, back to the car and warm up.  Finally, get out and run about .5 miles to see if the hip is working.  Feels ok so far....gun goes off and we are running an easy 9 min pace however, the path is all snowed over and everyone is slipping and sliding...Even if I was healthly, I don't know how fast I would be running this bitch...So I keep about a 9 min pace during the whole race and make sure I don't overdue it on my hip....Talk the whole way during the race and you could tell people were just hating me...the wind was cold and the course slippery...Finished the race with a 28:07...and heather ended up getting a THIRD PLACE AG award...way to go heather...Overall, I am planning to start training for a 50k in February next week which will be perfect.  All in all, its been an up and down month and 1/2 but I am glad that things are moving forward....hopefully, I can run the resolution 5k in NC hard and possibly do well.

Ten Reasons I'm Thankful for Running

Inspired by Another Mother Runner's post, I decided to do my own list of ten reasons that I'm thankful for running.

1.  Bonding with my husband-One of the best days of this past year was the time that I spent with him out on the trails at Oil Creek pacing him to his 100K finish.  I love our running dates especially our time on the trails together.

2.  Moms Run This Town and all of my women runner friends-I have met so many wonderful and supportive women through running.  Women who inspire me and encourage me every single day.

3.  Time spent running with my kids (and other people's kids)-I love the time that I spend racing with my kids and watching them achieve new goals.  I also helped coach cross country with The Running Store youth team for the first time this year, and I loved the Tuesday and Thursday afternoons watching the kids and their sense of accomplishment throughout the season.

4.  Sanity-On days when everything just feels overwhelming, a good run will clear my mind and help me focus and prioritize the day ahead.  My alone run times are also my time to talk with God...sounds strange, I know, but I do a lot of praying while running.

5.  Determination-Running has taught me so much over the past few years.  I have learned never, ever to give up on myself, and that there is nothing I can't accomplish if I am determined to go after that goal.

6.  Laughter and joy-When I am out running with my friends, my husband, my kids, or just running by myself, I am happy and full of joy.  It doesn't matter how bad the day is...a good run always picks me up.

7.  Pride and humility-Running has taught me to be proud of my accomplishments even the ones that don't seem that big to anyone else.  Running has also taught me humility because there is always that next bad run to bring you right back to earth and get you back to work.

8.  Health-Not only has running changed my body from the pure physical activity, but it has also transformed the way I eat and the way I feed my family.

9.  Inspiration-I have been inspired by a lot of runners over the year, but I have also been the inspiration for some runners too.  I recently got a note from a runner friend that said that I was one of the inspirations for the running goals that she had achieved during the past year.  Being someone's inspiration makes my heart sing.

10.  Nature and quiet time-One of the reasons that I love trail running so much is that it gives me the opportunity to get out in nature and experience some much needed quiet time.  As an introvert, I need time to recharge and trail running gives me just that time to do it.

Freezing our Gizzards for Some Cross Country PRs for the Boys

Today we ran the Freeze Your Gizzard 5K in Ida Lee Park in Leesburg.  This is the third year that we have been to this race, and we really enjoy it.  It benefits a community food bank so you can bring donations of canned food with you as well.  Two years ago, this was one of the first races that the boys ran, and we ran the 1 mile fun run with them.

Here's Nic two years ago!

Here's Zach!

Last year Zach ran this on his own as one of his first solo 5Ks. So this year all of us were going to run the 5K.  This is not an easy course as it is cross country with lots of ups and downs.  Zach had run over 33 minutes last year so he wanted to try to PR the course this year.  Before the race, he told JD that he wanted a sub-30, but we reminded him that this was a cross country and not a road course.  He still thought he could do it.  Nic and I were just going to try to do our best to run all of the hills and have a good time.

Heather and boys pre-race

It was brisk and very windy this morning at race start.  JD and the boys jogged a little to get warmed up and then it was time to start.  JD and Zach took off and did the first mile at around 9:18.  Nic and I were more conservative plus we got caught on a jammed section of the course behind some people who kept stopping ot walk.  We ran a 10:52 on this section.  Nic was doing great and not having trouble with any of the hills.  The second mile is a bit tougher than the first with some harder hills, but it also has a short road section after the water stop to make up some time.  Zach skipped the water station and did a 9:44 in mile 2.  Nic walked through the water station, but then he pushed really hard on the paved section to get 10:42 for that mile.  I told him that we were on pace to negative split the race and also to beat Zach's time from last year.  He got a big smile on his face and started to push a little harder. I had told him to run behind me whenever the wind got bad so he was drafting whenever he needed to.  Zach had a great last mile at 9:02 and finished in 29:09 for an average pace of 9:24!!!  He was in the <14 age group which was huge so he finished 35/92, but only one other 9 year old was ahead of him and the rest were older boys.  Nic finished strong with a 10:04 last mile and a final time of 32:51 for a pace of 10:22 overall and of course, first 6 year old. 

JD and boys pre-race

We are super proud of Zach for getting his first sub-30 on a cross country course, a 4 minute course PR, and for meeting his goal.  We are also super proud of Nic for conquering all of those hills, beating Zach's time from last year, and running negative splits for a 5K.  That might have even have been a first for me with the negative splits in a 5K because I usually lose it in mile 2 when I'm running them all out.   

We finally wore them out!

No Fear, No Doubt, No Judgement-Running Richmond Naked

Awesome sign from Fellow Flowers!

Leading up to Richmond Marathon I had really wanted to go after a sub-4:30 marathon.  I wasn't sure how doable it was given that a lot of my work in September and October was trail work, and I hadn't done many pace or tempo workouts especially at longer distances.  I also had a ton of long distance mileage on my legs (for me anyway...serious ultrarunners can feel free to laugh now).  I had done Drake Well Marathon on August 18, Youngstown Ultra Trail 50K in September, and paced 50K of Oil Creek in October so this was going to be my 4th marathon plus distance in a 90 day period.  Richmond also made me eligible for Marathon Maniac because Richmond would be my 3rd marathon+ distance in 90 days. (Maniac #8062 reporting for duty as a double agent-half fanatic and marathon maniac both this year!)

In search of the 4:30 goal, I signed up for the pace group.  I got an e-mail from the pace leader about a week before the race.  He sounded like he had a great plan so I was excited.  I also had a few women from Moms Run This Town that were going for a similar goal that were going to meet me at the pace group as well.  So on Thursday before Richmond, I get this insane idea to race with no Garmin.  My reasoning was that no Garmin would remove the stress of the pace from myself, would force me to trust and hopefully stay with the pace group, and would keep me from really doubting myself near the end.  So I arrived in Richmond on Friday with no Garmin. 

We checked into the Richmond Marriott Downtown.  I highly recommend this as a hotel location for the marathon.  The start was right outside of the hotel, and they had a Starbucks right inside the hotel.  They also had a restaurant that opened early and graciously left a nice finisher's packet with post race snacks and Gatorade on every runner's door after the race.  The hotel also had a table set up in the lobby when we checked in with cute door hangers, bottled water, granola bars, and race maps and spectator information.  Two thumbs up for the Marriott service!

Awesome door hangers!

We chilled out in the hotel for a little and then walked down the street to find a restaurant called Gibson's Grill.  It was right near the National Theater and had some bad reviews for being slow, but I think that must be on theater nights.  When we went in, there was really no one there and we were served in a reasonable amount of time.  I got some penne pasta with veggies and marinara sauce and then headed back to the hotel to get the race gear together and get ready for the morning.

Flat mama-was deciding between t or tank...went with tank

I did not sleep all that well and we ended up getting up at 5:30 am.  It was raining pretty hard when we woke up, but the local weatherman kept assuring us that the rain would stop before the marathon start.  JD went down to the Starbucks to get me some coffee, and I made a sandwich with peanut butter, raisin bread, and banana (usual marathon breakfast).  I got dressed and bibbed up and then just hung out in the room watching race coverage on the local news.  The 8K started at 7 am, and it was pouring at that point.  We could actually watch the runners go right by our hotel from our room so that was fun. 

View of marathon start and the downpour from my hotel window

Last minute hug

Around 7:30 we went out to the street to watch the half marathon start. It was drizzling a little, but it wasn't too bad.  I got corralled around 7:45 and found my friends and pace group really easily.  I have to say that I loved race morning logistics since I could hang out in my hotel room until 30 minutes before race start and not have to worry about portapotties. It was also easy to find friends in the corral.  I ate a Honey Stinger waffle and some water right around that time.

I am very nervous!

 Before we knew it we were off and ready to go.  I started talking to the pace leader and found out that he had paced Oil Creek 100 that year, and that he was an avid ultrarunner so we spent quite a bit of time chatting about trail races.

 It was pouring about a mile into the race, but I was really enjoying myself.  The rain quit fairly quickly, and we were just left with mist and drizzle throughout most of the day.  Honestly, race weather was pretty much perfect the rest of the day with moderate temperatures and no sun.  I was comfortable in my tank, capris, and arm warmers for at least half of the race.  Somewhere around mile 4-5 there was a big crowd cheering, and I looked over in the group and Bart Yasso!!!! was standing right there cheering the runners on so I stuck out my hand and got a high 5 from the Chief Running Officer.  This was one of the big highlights of the race.  I joked that I might have been more excited to see Bart than I was to see my kids.  The miles were clicking along, and then we hit a decent short climb right before 10K. 

Rocking it through the Starbucks party zone

We hit 10K at 1:04:56 for a pace of 10:28 in that section.  We were walking through the water stations and then picking up the pace a little after each section.  The next section of the course was my favorite because we hit a party stop at the Starbucks and  ran right beside the James River for a few miles. 

Gorgeous river views

After that we ran through a bunch of neighborhoods and up and down some little hills.  This is all honestly a blur because I was so keyed in on keeping with the pace leader that I wasn't looking at much else.  I ran with some of the MRTT ladies for a little while at this point and got slightly ahead of the pace group, but we hit a short climb so I slowed down and let myself drop back to them.  We hit a party station and the half marathon exactly at 2:15:09 so our pace overall was 10:18/mile, but we had done a significant negative split in that section dropping our average pace to 10:16.  Somewhere in here I pushed my arm warmers down because I was starting to heat up a little.  I felt like I was doing a great job with hydration and fueling by taking small amounts of fuel starting at mile 6 and doing every 2 miles after that with either Honey Stingers or Sport Beans plus water.  Somehow I completely forgot about my Endurolytes even though I had them with me.

Locked in and focused

So at mile 14 the pace leader tells us that the next bridge is pretty bad and this is where he usually loses a lot of the group. Determined not to lose the group, I glued myself to the pace leader.  I also made conversation with a few runners from National Black Marathoners Association who were in the group and looked to be running strong (BTW, loved their race bibs that said Running Free 1865).  I was trying to form bonds to keep me motivated to stay with the group.  At mile 15 we hit the Lee Bridge.  That thing looks like it's 10 miles long and reminds me of 14th Street Bridge in Marine Corps Marathon.  I stuck in one of my earbuds, locked in some Emninem on the ipod and focused.  Before I knew it the bridge was over, and we got hit with what would be our last serious climb. The pace leader was also starting to move a little faster in an attempt to bank some time between miles 16-20.  I was feeling pretty good and cheered by the fact that I might get to see JD and the boys around mile 17.

As we are part way up the climb in mile 16-17, the crowd starts to grow, and I start looking for the kids.  I spotted them, and made my way over for quick hugs as I was running through.  I was so excited to see friends and family that it helped me up that climb.  Around mile 18-19, I started to experience some stomach cramps.  I knew I was going to need a bathroom.  The portapotties had massive lines, and there was no way I was waiting in line during a race but running was starting to get uncomfortable.  I was also drifting to the back of the pace group as they were moving faster.  Finally I spotted a gas station as we were running through a neighborhood and darted in and found an empty bathroom.  I was much better after that and rejoined the race and picked my running back up.  Unfortunately I lost about 5-7 minutes during that stop and also lost my pace group.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to catch them so I settled in to get my self to run the last miles on my own.

Waving to my fake cheering section

During this section, I saw a huge cheering section with signs for Heather.  Obviously, it was for another Heather, but when I pointed to the name on my bib, they all went crazy for me so that was fun.  There was also a young woman who was holding a sign that said "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts..."  I saw her at 3 different party stations, and every time I saw her I would point to her and she would shout out "Can't Lose" with me.  So that was fun because I love that saying from Friday Night Lights. 

Let's finish this thing!

I was using the ipod in between aid stations, but the aid stations and community cheer stations were so awesome that I found myself only needing music for short periods of time before the crowds would pick up again.  At mile 20, we run under a stone archway and someone had put up a sign on it that said "The Wall".  I put my hand on that wall as I passed under the arch as a metaphor of the fact that I was breaking through the wall.  I hit mile 20 at 3:33:08 average 10:39 pace for the race, but my pace for that section had dropped to 11:10 due to the bathroom stop.

The last 6.2 miles were slower going, but I was still running.  I had promised myself that I was going to run this whole race so I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and repeating "no doubt, no fear, no judgement".  My quads were cramping badly (consequence of forgetting about the Endurolytes), but I just told myself that they were going to hurt even if I was walking so I should just keep moving.  I was grabbing a few sips of Gatorade at the aid stations which were every mile at this point to try to help a little.

Having a little fun at the 5K to go mark!

Not happy about the hill ahead

The marker for the last 5K was really fun as the neighborhood had hung up a banner for an actual 5K right at the 5K mark and had a DJ calling out runner names or numbers as we came through.  At this point, the 4:45 pace group caught me, but it was really only the pace leaders as their group had fallen apart.  Another lady and I joined the two female pace leaders who were super encouraging, and we got that last 5K done.  The downhill finish was really pretty awful.  The hill was terrifying steep, and due to cramping I was so scared that I would cramp up and just fall down the hill.  I didn't really let loose like I thought I would down that hill, but I was so happy.  I saw friends and family along the side and had a big smile on my face.  I was super excited to finish having run the whole way.  Final time was 4:46:33 for a pace of 10:56 overall and only 11:55 in that last 10K section (so slow, but still running). 

I can definitely say that this was my best marathon ever although I did not PR. I ran the whole thing, I had fun running it, I finished with a smile, and I didn't cry or get discouraged once during the whole race.  I learned a lot about myself and about how to run a marathon correctly that I can definitely carry on to my next race.  I also had a terrific experience running with no Garmin and running with a pace group.  I will definitely do this again for another marathon that offers pace group options.

Just spotted the kids on the way to the finish!

Overall Richmond is a great marathon.  It was hillier than I expected, but it was not awful and would have been fine if I would not have expected it to be flatter in the later stages.  There were some gorgeous sections along the James River, but I didn’t think it was overly scenic as a whole.  Running through the neighborhoods was fun, and the community cheer stations and party zones were terrific.  Logistics were really easy for us since we stayed near the start which was only a 0.5 mile walk from the finish as well.  I loved the smaller field, and aid stations were never overcrowded and were well stocked.  The medal was simply stunning, the long sleeve tech t-shirt was really nice, and  we also got an awesome fleece blanket at the finish line.  Great value for the money!  It definitely is America’s Friendliest Marathon and a good bet for a first time marathon as well.

Peroneal Tendonitis update #2

Last week, I started running again which was a good thing.  On Thursday, I ran a whole mile and it felt pretty decent.  However, the first couple times you come back from not running, its not a good judge on how your foot will feel.  On Friday, ran 3 miles and felt a few more aches but nothing too painful.  So I decided to pace Heather on the Backyard Burn at Wakefield park in Annondale, VA (Sunday - Nov 10th)..The left foot felt pretty good for the entire run and didn't really ache at all which was surprising.  The last two days, Monday and Tuesday I have been biking pretty 45 minutes each with some uphill climbs thrown in.  Just below the ankle bone started to ache but didn't really hurt.   I took off wed and Thursday the 13th and 14th and ran 5+ miles on Friday the 15th.  Foot didn't ache that much although it was 26 degrees out that morning...Went to cheer heather on for her Richmond Marathon on Saturday. 

All in all, the foot aches in two places, the side of the foot and under the ankle bone.  It mainly aches when not using it although when using it does not really ache at all - classic peroneal tendonitis.

So here is my running miles from the last several weeks while trying to recover from this tendonitis:

9/30 - 10/6:  63 miles (Oil Creek 100k)
10/7 - 10/13:  6 miles (Heritage 5k, won age group)
10/14 - 10/20:  14 miles
10/21 - 11/3 - 14 days no running (biked the second week)
10/28 - 11/03 - 26 miles bike
11/4 - 11/10 - 10 miles, 24 miles bike
11/11 - 11/17 - 11 miles, 17 miles bike
11/18 ???????????????

So things are going slow as you can see but I have decided not to run the Seashore 50k in Dec...could I run it, prolly could but ran it last year and if I can't do sub 5 hours, its not worth it....so the next race for me looks like the Holiday lake 50k in Feb 2014...will be jogging out some 5k's with the kids this winter...although would like to place in my age group but not worth reinjuring myself....

Trail Love at the Backyard Burn

As a final tune up for Richmond Marathon, I had signed up to run the EX2 Backyard Burn 10 mile race at Wakefield Park.  Since I had already done my long run during the week, on race day I opted to drop down to the 5 mile option.  JD was on his way back from the peroneal tendonitis so he decided that he would run it along with me.

Bib and series shirt

It was a gorgeous morning for a trail race, and Wakefield is a fairly easy trail.  We did our usual line up in the parking lot and get our race instructions, and then we were off on a short prologue on the road.  We hit the trail and were immediately bottle necked and trying to pass slower runners and trail newbies.  JD was doing a good job of pushing the pace a little for me although I know it was killing him to be going this slowly on the trail.

At one point we came to a wet stream crossing and the conga line of runners skids to a halt as most of the women stop to pick their way across the stream.  Meanwhile, JD blows by them with me following, and we just splashed through this stream kind of giggling at the other runners.  The course marshal at the stream actually applauded for us when we did the crossing that way.

JD stopped to adjust his shoe somewhere in the second mile so a bunch of the runners we had passed went by us.  So then we had to pass them all back which was rather annoying.  JD kept pushing me throughout the run and was doing a great job of keeping me focused on the course. We hit the one hilly section of the course, and there was lots of walking by other runners.  We kept pushing and passed a bunch of people on the hill section.

We finally hit the last grass straightaway back to the finish, and I really started pushing the pace around an 8:30 mile.  I could feel a few women trying to pass me, and I was determined not to let anyone get past me in the final stretch.  JD helped me out a lot by putting on a surge and kind of blocking the other women from getting up to challenge me.  I felt like I ran a pretty strong race and finished at 58:31 for a 5.6 mile course.  We probably lost about 2 minutes time due to the shoe adjustment and getting bottle necked in the beginning so I was really happy with a strong trail effort leading into the marathon.

I hadn't ever run the 5 mile option at the Backyard Burn before, but it was really fun to push myself a little harder on the course than I normally would if I was running the 10 mile.  I might try doing the 5 mile series next fall just for some fun on the trails.  Super special thanks to JD for running that one with me and pushing me harder than I would have pushed myself.

Love my trail partner!

Cross Country Style

Last weekend, Zach and I ran the RoadRunner 5K to benefit a local elementary school and help them buy new playground equipment.  Despite the name (I think it is because of the school mascot), the race is a cross country race at one of my favorite places in Northern Virginia, Great Meadow!  I was very excited about getting to run on the same course that the horses use for the Gold Cup races.  In addition, it was a nice chance for Zach to test out his cross country skills particularly because this is the course that the Virginia State High School Cross Country Championships uses.

Saluter...best horse ever in Gold Cup!

There was also a 1 mile kids race that Nicolas decided to run in.  Packet pick up and check in was really easy.

No lines here...also no lines for the porta potties.

We waited around for a bit and then the kids mile started.

Someone is serious about the mile!

Nic ran a great race.  The course was a little confusing so he hung with the older kid who was supposed to be the pacer for the group.  I think he finished 4th or 5th and had a great run!

Then it was time for Zach and I to start.  We lined up at the start.  Zach was nervous, but they were playing Bon Jovi Living on a Prayer so I took his mind off of the nerves by embarrassing him by singing along.  The gun went off and we started at a pretty good pace.  We ran a pretty strong first mile about 9:10.  

 

Short video of Zach and I during mile 1

The course at this part was over some packed gravel.  It got much harder in the second mile when we hit the thick grass.  Zach was struggling a little because the grass was grabbing at his feet, but he kept a strong 9:19 pace.  The third mile was a lot harder for him as it was much hillier, into the wind, and almost all grass.  He faded a bit here to a 10:37.  The course was actually long at 3.27 miles.  He ran the last quarter mile at a 9:38 pace and finished strong passing a bunch of people in the final stretch.  Nic was a great little brother and came to run him in on the last stretch just as Zach had run him in on the last stretch of the mile earlier.

Zach and I finishing strong!

We finished at 31:34 for an average 9:36 pace since the course was longer than a 5K.  He did a great job and ended up 7/20 in the <14 age group with the only boys beating him being 10+ and 40/143 overall so he did an awesome job on a tough course.  We had a fun time running together, and I was really proud of him and glad that I got to share the race with him.

Gorgeous course views!

How can you not enjoy a course like this?

Overall this was a good race with a great course and friendly volunteers and nice long sleeve cotton shirt for a low entry fee.  The parking was easy as was packet pick up.  The only negative for this race was the fact that they added a 10K this year which made the course confusing as the 10K runners were entering and leaving the course at various spots.  I'm pretty sure Zach may have gotten lost if I hadn't been with him as the volunteers themselves seemed a little confused as to where we should go sometimes and the course marking wasn't that great in the back section of the course.  I would definitely do it again though for the beauty of the course.

Peroneal Tendonitis update

Went back to the foot and ankle specialist today for a follow-up.  I mentioned how I have been riding the bike and doing stretches daily as well as a small run on November 7th (1 mile).  I asked him how would I know if I had a tear or not and he did an ultrasound on my peroneal tendons up and down my left foot.   No tear.  It still aches a little bit while I sit at work but doesn't ache that much when I walk.  He mentioned going for a run this weekend and I decided a slow 3 mile run today.  Welp, the run was ok and I felt a few dull aches pass over just below the left ankle bone.  However, it comes and goes and didn't really affect the running.  Ran a slow 9:45 pace just to get some miles in.  Tomorrow, I will take running off and hit the bike for 45 minutes just to keep the legs fresh.  Then on Sunday, will get a few more miles in.  I will probably be doing light mileage for the next two weeks which is alot different that what I had been doing before the OC100k race.  So, all in all, I took approximately 19/20 days off running and it killed me...Here was my schedule when the peroneal tendonitis came on:

Week 1:  October 18 (last time ran - did no running until November 7th
Weeek 2:  Started biking on October 28th, biked for 20 minutes every day and did peroneal tendonitis stretches
Week 3 (start November 4th - rode bike 30 minutes nov 4th, 5th, 6th)
November 7th - ran 1 mile - slow pace.
November 9th  - ran 3 miles. - slow pace

I really miss the Fridays when I would drop by the Manassas Battlefield and get in a quick 10-13 miles...Seems like so long ago...either way, I will get back to it.  It may take me a few more weeks to get the foot used to running again and have to make sure I take care of it and not overdue it.

Rest means rest, welcome to Peroneal Tendonitis...

After the Oil Creek 100k, I took a whopping 5 days off and then ran the Heritage 5k race (October 12th).  I was just going to jog it out but ran it harder than I wanted.  However, after the run, the left foot felt fine.  The next day, heather and I did a light 6 miles and my left foot (below the ankle bone) started aching a little bit.  However, I ran the following Wednesday and Friday with limited pain.  By the time the weekend arrived, my left foot was aching pretty good.  On that Sunday, I hit the bike for an hour but it still didn't feel any better and told myself to cut running out for a couple of days.  At the point, the pain in the middle outer left foot area.  However, in the last 14 days, it moves between the middle outer calf, to below the ankle bone, to the outer left foot.  I had xrays which were negative however, it should be noted only a a fracture shows up when calcification occurs.  That said, I don't think its a fracture on more tendonitis.  


Here is the timeline of the start of Peroneal Tendonitis:

• Oil Creek 100k - October 5th (rolled left ankle (exversion) at mile 3.5 and inversion at mile 23) - significant of a roll that I didn't know I would finish.  However, finished with time of 17 hours 44 minutes - but foot did not swell.
• Heritage 5k  - October 12th (placed first in my age group) - foot still felt ok 
• Ran 6 miles on October 14th
• Ran 4.5 miles on October 16th
• Ran 4.2 miles on October 18th
• Biked 12 miles on October 20th
• Stopped running since October 21st.....
• Biked 2 miles on October 28th.
• Bike 5.2 miles on October 29th
• Bike 5.2 miles on October 30th
• Biked 4.2 miles on November 1st
• Bike 5 miles on November 2nd
• Biked 5 miles on November 3rd

 I told myself I would not run for two weeks to give the foot a rest and will start back early next week.  Additionally, I will start back very slow and see if the Seashore 50k is in the cards...however, if I can't its not going to be a big deal.  I just had some plans to get some speed work in for this fall and it looks like that will not be happening <SIGH>

Knowing that if I don't want this thing to hang over me forever, I need to take care of it now rather than when the big races come up...

Currently, I am 14 days in without running and will begin doing these exercies to help strenthening the ankle:

http://www.askthetrainer.com/strengthening-exercises-for-the-peroneal-muscles/

and these:

• Towel stretch: Sit on a hard surface with your injured leg stretched out in front of you. Loop a towel around your toes and the ball of your foot and pull the towel toward your body keeping your leg straight. Hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds and then relax. Repeat 3 times.

When you don't feel much of a stretch using the towel, you can start the standing calf stretch and the following exercises.

• Standing calf stretch: Stand facing a wall with your hands on the wall at about eye level. Keep your injured leg back with your heel on the floor. Keep the other leg forward with the knee bent. Turn your back foot slightly inward (as if you were pigeon-toed). Slowly lean into the wall until you feel a stretch in the back of your calf. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds. Return to the starting position. Repeat 3 times. Do this exercise several times each day.
• Standing soleus stretch: Stand facing a wall with your hands on the wall at about chest height. Keep your injured leg back with your heel on the floor. Keep the other leg forward with the knee bent. Turn your back foot slightly inward (as if you were pigeon-toed). Bend your back knee slightly and gently lean into the wall until you feel a stretch in the lower calf of your injured leg. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds. Return to the starting position. Repeat 3 times.
• Achilles stretch: Stand with the ball of one foot on a stair. Reach for the step below with your heel until you feel a stretch in the arch of your foot. Hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds and then relax. Repeat 3 times.
• Heel raise: Balance yourself while standing behind a chair or counter. Using the chair or counter as a support to help you, raise your body up onto your toes and hold for 5 seconds. Then slowly lower yourself down without holding onto the support. (It's OK to keep holding onto the support if you need to.) When this exercise becomes less painful, try lowering yourself down on the injured leg only. Repeat 15 times. Do 2 sets of 15. Rest 30 seconds between sets.
• Step-up: Stand with the foot of your injured leg on a support 3 to 5 inches high (like a small step or block of wood). Keep your other foot flat on the floor. Shift your weight onto the injured leg on the support. Straighten your injured leg as the other leg comes off the floor. Return to the starting position by bending your injured leg and slowly lowering your uninjured leg back to the floor. Do 2 sets of 15.
• Resisted ankle eversion: Sit with both legs stretched out in front of you, with your feet about a shoulder's width apart. Tie a loop in one end of elastic tubing. Put the foot of your injured leg through the loop so that the tubing goes around the arch of that foot and wraps around the outside of the other foot. Hold onto the other end of the tubing with your hand to provide tension. Turn the foot of your injured leg up and out. Make sure you keep your other foot still so that it will allow the tubing to stretch as you move the foot of your injured leg. Return to the starting position. Do 2 sets of 15.
• Balance and reach exercises: Stand next to a chair with your injured leg farther from the chair. The chair will provide support if you need it. Stand on the foot of your injured leg and bend your knee slightly. Try to raise the arch of this foot while keeping your big toe on the floor.
• Keep your foot in this position. With the hand that is farther away from the chair, reach forward in front of you by bending at the waist. Avoid bending your knee any more as you do this. Repeat this 10 times. To make the exercise more challenging, reach farther in front of you. Do 2 sets of 10.
• Stand in the same position as above. While keeping your arch height, reach the hand that is farther away from the chair across your body toward the chair. The farther you reach, the more challenging the exercise. Do 2 sets of 10.

If you have access to a wobble board, do the following exercises:

• Wobble board exercises:
• Stand on a wobble board with your feet shoulder width apart. Rock the board forwards and backwards 30 times, then side to side 30 times. Hold on to a chair if you need support.
• Rotate the wobble board around so that the edge of the board is in contact with the floor at all times. Do this 30 times in a clockwise and then a counterclockwise direction.
• Balance on the wobble board for as long as you can without letting the edges touch the floor. Try to do this for 2 minutes without touching the floor.
• Rotate the wobble board in clockwise and counterclockwise circles, but do not let the edge of the board touch the floor.
• When you have mastered exercises A through D, try repeating them while standing on just your injured leg.