By far , this has been the most frustrating and injury plagued marathon training seasons Ive ever had ( poor me 
). Between the unusually cold and rainy weather here in the San Francisco bay area, the constant muscle and joint ailments , and the limited number of training opportunities available before marathon day, it’s taken all of my will power not to throw in the towel and just say… forget it !
The Saturday before last, I was supposed to do my max LSD of 20 miles , but because of some new heel pain in my left food during that walk, I had to stop after only 17 miles. Due to my own negligence , it seems I’ve developed a pretty nasty plantar fasciitis in my left foot. So like it or not, for better or worse…..I’m now in a forced resting mode for the next 3 weeks. Not exactly what I had planned as a taper, but at least it forced me to stay off my feet for a few days longer than I would have .
I managed to finish the bulk of my LSD’s before screwing up my leg , but I’m a little worried about not doing a proper and gradual taper. Taking a 4 week break from walking and then all of a sudden walk a 26 miler.. is going to be tough! I tend to de-condition rather rapidly if I cut out too many of the longer walks. Add to that the extra beating my legs will likely take when walking on a marathon course which is 50% cobble stone. To my credit though, in the past I’ve gone from Ventilator to marathon finish line in as little as 3 weeks….What could be tougher than that? Hey…I’ll crawl myself over the finish line if I have to !
To prevent these current injuries from getting worse, and with the help of a mutually prone- to- injury friend; I’ve expeditiously educated myself on said affliction , procured some fancy new inserts , some new shoes, and a new power stretcher for my tight-as-can-be calves and shin muscles. I’m hoping these measures will get me through this marathon with less pain.
Thankfully, I’ve only had a handful of bad breathing days so far , which in a weird way, kinda makes up for all injury related delays Ive had. Next week their going to cram a tube up my nose for a day.
