Monday, February 28, 2011

The good. The bad. The sprained.

I welcome the next 3 weeks of taper before the marathon with open arms. and a sprained ankle.

The Good

The good news is that marathon training is now in full taper mode. I put in the long runs and miles and now is the time to let my body heal from how hard I have been pushing it so I can run a strong 26.2 miles on March 20th.

More good news is that my family and Phil's family (and Whitney's family too) has booked flights and hotels to Cozumel for Ironman in November. woo hoo! Huge family vacation. We are very very lucky and blessed to have such wonderful and supportive families. Plus, it's a damn awesome excuse to go to Cozumel ;)

And in more good news- Phil and I are heading to Breckenridge Colorado this Thursday for a long weekend getaway. While he snowboards (I will not be skiing...I don't want a repeat of our first ski trip together and I would like all the ligaments in my knee to stay put) I will be relaxing in the ski lodge with a book. I also booked a 2 hour sports massage to get all of the toxins out of my muscles.

The Bad

This weekend was the last long run of the marathon training plan. 22 miles. 22 miles that absolutely kicked my ass. I don't know what I did to my ankle, but I think the combination of pronating with the sheer volume I have been running caused me to sprain my ankle. To make it worse, we did an 11 mile out and back, so by the time my ankle really started to kill at mile 13, I had no choice but to jog/walk/hobble the 9 more miles home. I'm sure that did not help.

It was so frustrating to have to deal with that pain during the last long run. However, it did prove to me that the distance is not an issue. I have no doubt in my mind that I will finish the marathon...but I would really love it if I were not in pain the whole time.

The Sprained

I plan to take the next 3 weeks and really give my legs and my whole body some TLC. Lots of water. Lots of sleep. Lots of rest. Lots of icing.

I hope that even though my taper is starting off with a sprained ankle, I can nurture it back to health and race a strong marathon in a few weeks.

Cross your fingers for me.  

4 comments:

  1. Jenn's PT advice: elevate, alphabets, wrap, support and then strengthen!!!!

    elevate above your heart.... literally put your feet way in the air for 10 min a few times a day!!!!

    keep it moving with alphabets.... this is going to sound crazy but pretend you have to write the alphabet on a wall with your feet. exaggerate the movements.... keep your ankle moving so it doesn't get tight

    wrap that ankle with an ace wrap.......if u want to skype I can show you the best way (don't search google or youtube...they are bad examples)...

    keep it supported, in good supportive shoes like sneaks with the wrap

    oh and as it swells less and hurts less let me know and i'll tell u how to start slowly strengthening it (things u can do at work as long as there is a wall available)....

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  2. fingers crossed. you've got plenty of time for everything to rest and heal. a 2 hour massage sounds AMAZING!

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  3. Thanks for the comment on my blog! I've added yours to one that I follow! :)

    Congrats on getting through that 22 - limping, walking and all. Take care of that ankle! I'm with Jenn!

    So jealous of the ski/relaxation trip! You earned it!

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  4. Way jealous of your trip to Breckenridge. That has to be one of my favortie get aways! There is a tiny cookie shop on the main drag that is amazing!

    No worries about that ankle, you have lots of time (if you treat it right!). Ice and alphabets are the seriously the way! Good luck recovering!

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