Week in Review

0 Miles
2 Lift Days
21 Miles hiked
2 days in Monterey, CA
5 days with Garrett
10 days off in October
15 days off in November

I may not be logging miles on the road, but I did log a solid 20 mile hike this week at Big Sur. Sure, Coach probably sighed to himself, wondering how I could hike up 3000 feet in elevation gain and then 2800 feet on the way back but not run 4 miles on flat pavement.  Somehow, my achilles held up quite nicely.  Of course I felt it, but I wasn't going to say no to a hike the day before Thanksgiving with my brother and my husband. I've made choices in the past to pass up on other things because of running, but today was not that day.  On Tuesday, Joey, Garrett and I headed over to Monterey.  We checked out the aquarium on Tuesday and then hiked to the Sykes Hot Springs on Wednesday.  I was so sore from the hike immediately afterwards, probably because I'm not conditioned to be running 20 miles right now, let along walking 20 miles!  To be safe, I did pass up on a possible hike at Big Basin north of Santa Cruz because my hamstrings were just too tight.  I'm pretty sure Garrett was super bummed, but he understood that I didn't want to risk tearing my achilles or something crazy.  I still would like to at least try to finish the Olympic Trials in a couple of months!

Then, we enjoyed a nice vegan Thanksgiving meal at my house in mountain view.  It was super chill and relaxed, and I was so happy that I got to spend it with not only Garrett, but with Joey too!  I said goodbye to my guests on Friday, which really just made me miss Garrett a lot more and kind of question what the hell I'm doing by living on the opposite coast of my husband.  I was doing so good at just being the badass wife who was being so strong being so far away from her best friend, but saying bye to him on Friday and reflecting on how much fun we had together...it was definitely tough.  I'm almost done with my MBA, so after I finish those classes up in the next couple of weeks, I'll need to find something else to really keep my mind off of how awesome Garrett is and how much I'm potentially missing out on by not being in Durham!

Having G in California was just what I needed

Week in Review

10 miles
2 runs
5 days off
24 hours in Boston
2 Lift Days

In an effort to accelerate my comeback as much as possible, I had a 90 minute massage with Josh at SMI on Tuesday.  I noticed as the week progressed that what I thought was an achilles injury, actually felt very much like a peroneal injury.  Josh spent a solid 30 minutes on the area, and I was definitely sore from the body work afterwards, which is just what I needed.  However, after I attempted a run again on Friday and then again on Saturday, the creaky sensation in my achilles came back.  My achilles feels like the entire sheath doesn't want to move.  Honestly, the whole thing is quite puzzling because I feel my peroneal when I walk around or when I massage it, but then when I run, the pain is centered around the achilles.  Ironically, I've never really gotten injured on the right side, so I'm guessing that since I'm approaching 30, my body decided to switch it up on me and go get injured on the other side.  :)

On the bright side, Garrett and I were reunited today, and he was able to do some functional movement screen tests on me to see what weaknesses could be causing the issue.  My very own physical therapist in training discovered that my right side is weaker than my left and added two new activities to my lifting regime.  Ironically enough, he said my squat, ankle mobility and other things have improved dramatically and that I'm really strong where I used to be weak.  I retorted back quite quickly "And yet I'm still injured..."

Week in Review

45 miles
1 day off
2 weight lift sessions
1 sleepover with Meagan

Thirteen.  That's the number of consecutive days I ran until I felt another injury find its way to my body.

Things were going so great early in the week, too.  I ran 8 miles at the Strava Track Club practice.   I had a wonderfully painful massage with Josh at Sports Medicine Institute, followed by an ice bath that took my breath away.  I had the privilege of running with my bestie Meagan for not one, but TWO runs.  I seriously was so grateful that I wasn't injured when she was here, because it would have meant less time for me to spend with her.

Then Saturday came along.  I drove to the southernmost part of the peninsula to run with Laura and Connor.  it was a beautiful day, with great company but during the first mile, I knew something wasn't right.  Out of nowhere, my right achilles was aching, super tight.  I finished the run because it was manageable but knew right away that it was not good.  I drove home and contemplated what probably happened - my left knee and left calf got tight and then I started overcompensating and it all migrated on over to my right side like a virus.  I attempted a run on Sunday morning in the rain, and the achilles was too tight to push it.

I was pretty bummed because by day 11, I was really beginning to feel optimistic about my buildup back to getting into shape.  I felt confident that all the mobility drills, strengthening exercises, and soft tissue work were finally starting to pay off and help me heal.  I'm really glad that Garrett gets here in one week so that he can give me some more exercises to focus on to help correct this.

On the bright side, I haven't been injured in over ten years.  I'm fortunate to have the privilege to run and am so grateful for how much more sane it makes me feel.  If anything, this injury is the sort of thing that makes me appreciate all the opportunities that running has opened up for me.  Hopefully I'm  back, and healthy, by December 15th.

night out with meagan!

ice bath at Sports Medicine Institute

Week in Review

43 miles
8 mile "long run"
0 days off
1 Massage
2 Lift days

After a minor set back with my calf last week, Terry and I decided to keep the daily mileage under 8 miles this week.  Reflecting on this past week, I'm feeling pretty good about the progress (meaning that I don't have tightness worsening in my calf yet).  I know that the true test will come in the early days next week as I try to run back-to-back days of 8 miles.  Now some of you may think that I'm having a nervous breakdown because I can't run.  This would have definitely been the case in college, or even three years ago.  Obviously, it's not ideal to be somewhat injured 13 weeks out from the Trials, but it could be a lot worse.  Emotionally I am actually very impressed with myself because I've been very rationale with my options and the scenarios that could play out.  Further, I've had time to do other things that I enjoy, like cooking.  The most annoying part about all of this is just that it has prevented me from being able to run with new people, thwarting my attempts to meet more friends through the running community.

The highlight of the week was the Strava Track Club potluck that Coach Dena hosted at her house. I've been very grateful for her generosity and for the warm welcome into the running community.  I also attended the Strava Track Club practice on Tuesday at the Stanford track.  It was the first time I was really fired up to run since this calf injury started.  Nothing can stop the magic of that track from permeating throughout my whole body.  My spirits were uplifted just seeing the lights on at the track.  So many great memories from college at that track!

Week in Review (Calf Setback)

47 Miles
12 Mile MLR
1 day off


I take one step forward and two steps back.  Change one word and you have a nice Paula Abdul song.  Well, that's how I feel right now.  I was feeling optimistic about my calf tightness going away until it came back after 8 consecutive days of running.  I'd been enjoying the runs with some friendly folks here in my new town (mainly Jenna Boren) and then my calf gave me the middle finger. After a 12 miler on Saturday, the calf tightened up again, so I went into emergency mode.  I called Garrett, looked up all sorts of ankle mobility drills and began a strict regime of foam rolling, lacrosse ball massage and KB massage before and after all runs.   I took Sunday off as an extra precautionary measure, in hopes that next week will prove to be more successful.

I really just want to know if I'm healthy or not. I hate this middle ground and that is probably the most frustrating.  I've talked with Terry and at least have a plan, with several options depending on how my calf holds up to mileage through the rest of the month.