What Will Surely Be 13.1 Miles of Agony

Well, this is it folks.  The end of my second half marathon "training."  It definitely didn't go as I planned considering I've hardly logged 1/3 of the miles that I should have to prepare for it.

If you are just tuning in then I must share with you that I developed a pretty severe case of plantar fasciitis back in July that only seemed to get worse with traditional medical treatments (2 rounds of failed cortisone shots.)  The next step is an ultrasound which will likely show that the fasciia has thickened to the point that surgery will be my only relief.

Even though I am in a significant amount of pain on a day to day basis, I am not ready to go there.

So back to my half marathon "training" we go!

I could totally beat myself up by claiming I didn't do enough to prepare and a small part of me does believe that.  Honestly, I have still managed to make positive changes in my body.  My arms, shoulders and back are stronger than ever before from all of the rowing, push ups and tricep dips I've been doing.  Rawr!

I've been creative about how to fit in exercise during my day rather than setting aside an hour or two block of time a day.  By squeezing in different moves like push ups into my down time I can spend more time with my family at the end of the day.  I can also spend more time putting my feet up to give them a break.

One unfortunate downside to this way of training has been me gaining weight back.  It's not a lot, about 5 pounds, but it's enough to be discouraging and to remind me that I am an emotional eater.  I really wish that I had taken this opportunity to really focus on my nutrition but the constant pain really wore me down.  Even when my feet were up, they throbbed.

During this time I've come to love acupuncture.  Who knew getting stuck with several small needles would be so relaxing?  Before you ask, yes it did help with the pain, but it didn't cure it.  I didn't go enough for it to make a huge impact, but I always left feeling better.

So here goes nothing!  I'll be spending my race week trying to foam roll out the cramps in my feet and calves, cross training on the rowing machine, working my arms, throwing in a few squats, visiting the chiropractor twice and using Quick Tape from Etrode Sports and Therapeutics. 

My motto for this race:  No Regrets and Leave It All On The Course!