Oct 3, 2011

I've Got Some Good News and Some Bad News......

This pretty much sums it up for me with my marathon one week away!
I had a very easy week and managed to get 22 miles or so in this week. The Long Beach Marathon is just a week away and I feeling nervous yet anxious all at the same time.  I ran 10 miles on Friday and 8.3 miles on Sunday because I have been having some pain in my left calf close to my Achilles tendon.  I did a little bit of Googling and think that I may be coming down with a case of Achilles tendinitis!  Just what I needed after the ten day forecast shows great marathon weather!  The pain is really low on my calf and I am almost positive that I have self-diagnosed correctly.  I found some great videos on YouTube on how to deal with this and I have been foam rolling, icing, doing wall push-ups and taking ibuprofen.  I am hoping that I can kick this within the next week and still be able to run Long Beach without any major problems. In any case I will be out there running/walking/limping/crawling/crying, etc.  I refuse to earn my first DNF but will settle for a PW!

Now on to the positive things! I was shopping at Target on Friday and finally decided to buy some Quaker Steel Cut Oats and give them a try.  I see them all of the time but am always hesitant to try them. I am glad that I gave in because I fell in love with them! The only problem is that they take a good 20-25 minutes to prepare and I usually do the instant stuff at work. I threw some brown sugar and bananas on top and washed it all down with milk.  I love milk and just can't live without it! My favorite breakfast to date has been Perfect Oatmeal with brown sugar and nuts from Starbucks but I think I have found something new that I really, really like! I am also overjoyed that it keeps my tummy full for a long time!   
I also scored some great deals at the Nike Outlet this weekend.  I had a $25 off of a $50 purchase coupon and purchased two new running tanks.  I own quite a few of them already but some of them are not in the greatest shape anymore.  I bought a hot pink one and a gray one which match up with most of the Tempo shorts that I already own.  I also bought a new running skirt from lululemon but no special deal on this purchase!  Lulu sells out of the cute stuff so quickly that you are forced to pay full price for their stuff.  I only splurge at lululemon once in a blue moon when I think I deserve it. To be honest, I often find myself making up excuses for deserving new running clothes or other gear!

In closing I want to wish all of you GOOD LUCK in your upcoming races.  I know that The Long Beach Marathon and the Chicago Marathon will both take place on October 9th so don't forget to tell me all about it! It is always great to hear how hard work/training pays off and results in great races and PR's!

7 comments:

  1. Ugh on the achilles issue! I had that happen to me a couple weeks before my first half-marathon about 10ish years ago and again this past July. I'm still "walking on eggshells" to make sure I get to my marathon start on 10/30, but I'd like to share one other thing that seems to have helped.

    Since the first achilles issue 10 yrs ago, the Dr advised I put heel inserts in my running shoes. He explained that these silly little inserts helped to reduce the angle that the achilles has to stretch. I've been using them ever since.

    And, the July flare up is totally explainable: I broke the golden rule of increasing mileage, speed, and hills all in one gigantic 18 mile training run. Right.

    Might be worth looking into...good luck!!!!

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  2. So sorry about your injury--sounds like you are doing everything right, and fingers crossed it's ok for this weekend! I used the EXACT same coupon at Nike this weekend, and scored some great deals!

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  3. Oh no, I hope your achilles tendon heals up quickly!

    Tappan (my boyfriend) injured his achilles tendon last year, ONE week before he was on course to run the Richmond Marathon sub 3 hours...talk about bad timing, and that sounds like what's happened to you.

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  4. I'm sorry about your achilles. Mine was bugging me this summer so I just cut off part of the back of my shoe, worked like a charm!

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  5. Noooo I really hope your calf get back to 100% for your big race!! I got patella femoral a month before my last marathon and I wasn't allowed to run AT ALL leading up to the race! My doc said I could still do it on race day so I had to tape up my knee all crazy and I went for it! My legs weren't ready for it but I finished and I'm happy with that! You will pull through no matter what condition you are in, just make sure you listen to your body and if you have to run slow, who cares!

    Sweet deal on the Nike tops! They're so cute! I've seen that skirt at Lulu before and it so nice. I am addicted to that store. It's not good for my wallet but nothing beats their clothes so I give in way too often!

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  6. If you live near a trader joes they have 8 minute steel cut oats - they are my fave! Other ideas is to soak them overnight in water/milk and they cook much faster!

    Thanks for the good luck wishes - same goes to you! It seems we are both being tormented with 'little' minor itty bitty injuries! ;) We will be fine - just REST up until gameday in a couple days!

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  7. great nike outlet scores! I love outlet stores. I have one near wear I live and got the same dryfit tank but in black! SCORE

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