Pheidippides’s BodyBlog

My last race was a success, but it was followed three days later by a big setback.  The race was the 5K I ran on July 25.  I beat my previous PR by 8 seconds with a time of 19:22, not quite as fast as I’d hoped but still my best race yet.  I started fast, clocking 6:04 for the first mile, then I slowed to 6:16 for the second and about 6:22 for the third.  My overall pace was 6:14, so I was pleased.  At the time it seemed like my running was progressing really well and I was on track for that sub-40 minute 10K, my big goal for the year.

Alas, three days later, during my afternoon speed interval workout, my right foot started to hurt.  It wasn’t the same as the Achilles tendonitis I’d suffered two years ago; this was lower and nearer the heel.  I made it through three 600 meter intervals and an 800 meter interval with increasing discomfort, but had to give up during the second 800 meter segment.  I haven’t been able to run since then, and it’s been 9 days.  I’ve hit the gym three times and spent time on the stationary bike to try to maintain aerobic fitness, but there’s no way I can avoid setting my running back if this keeps up.

At first I thought it might be a stress fracture, but the doctor seems to think it’s an injury to the Achilles tendon where it connects to the heel.  I’m taking a painkiller and trying to rest it, and that’s about all I can do.  In the meantime I’m going to keep going to the gym to try aerobic exercises that don’t put pressure on my heel — especially the stationary bike, as it works my quads as well as the heart.

It’s quite frustrating, but if it heels within a week or two it won’t set me back too much and I should be able to still enter some races this fall.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.