This week took an unexpected twist and ended up not being deeper in the sense of mileage but definitely deeper in the sense of reflection.

Let’s start with the one day that went according to “plan.”

Monday 50 minutes regular
My calves felt tight, likely due to a strong performance at GHS the Saturday before. Everything else felt great. We ended up running inside because of the rain. Unfortunately, I think I will need to find a new treadmill because my treadmill no longer has a functioning incline feature. I used the time to continue to focus on my form and stride, feeling good and ready to tackle another week.

Tuesday 50 minutes regular nothing
I woke up with absolutely no motivation. I knew that I had a long day ahead of me at school and then at home with afterschool leading right into Curriculum Night and then the remainder of the evening spent doing all of the other work I was unable to do. I ended up feeling more than a bit bummed because Tuesday when I got home, I managed to slam my left foot into the edge of a wooden pallet underneath my chest freezer in the garage. It’s not like that hasn’t been there for years or anything.
It definitely felt a lot more sore than when I slammed the same foot into my slow cooker that I set out to remember to bring to Mom several months ago. (I might have an issue with this.) I did not see any immediate swelling or bruising but that came later.

Wednesday strength training
Even though I woke up and could still feel my toe, I wanted to stay strong and get in strength training. I feel so much better when I am able to do this. I took this opportunity to tell Mom and Ellis about it as well. A bit of a bruise had developed but nothing compared to what I would see later that day. During the first half of the workout I felt really bummed, almost ready to cry. I was so sure that I would not be able to run the half marathon Saturday, sure that I had broken my toe and would be out of commission for my entire “base building” period which would significantly set back my marathon PR goals. After a little while of wallowing in self-pity, I forced myself out of it, forced myself to set that aside and focus on the workout which resulted in a much better second half.
The toe situation continued to develop. As I walked around at work, I could feel the toe nothing significant. I convinced myself that I had just slammed the toe really hard. Then at lunch I stepped into the bathroom to take off my shoe and sock to take a look. My heart sank when I saw the purplish bruising. The roller coaster ride continued with me now feeling once again that I had broken my toe. (The toe in question is the third toe, the middle toe.)

Thursday: some sort of running off
I did not even bother to look at my calendar to see what I should run. I knew that I needed the rest and so did my toe. I would do more harm than good by testing and seeing if I could run on it.
I buddy-taped the toe and got to spend the morning off my feet at a seminar that all the English teachers attended. At various times during the day I completely forgot that I had done anything to the toe.

Friday: stationary bike
I am determined to get back into this habit. It has become so easy for both Mom and I to say that we’re tired and to skip it. I also wanted to get in some form of exercises since the jury was still out on running. My toe felt fairly normal but looked horrible. I enjoyed the ride and plan to continue to incorporate it.

Saturday: Run Hard Columbia Half Marathon
By the end of Thursday, I knew that my toe bones remained in tact and with proper buddy-taping, I could successfully run the half marathon. (The one thing I did not remember is that apparently my left big toe is sensitive to things rubbing against it. The same spot that lost a dime-seized section of skin a few months ago developed another nice blister on the inside of the big toe which currently has a bandaid on it. What more could I do to my left foot?)
The thing that concerns me now, is my left heel. I mentioned it last week but did not have opportunity to mention it this week due to the limited amount of runs. I am beginning to become concerned that this heel pain, likely plantar fasciitis, might morph into something that could derail my plans. It does not seem to bother me on shorter runs but on half marathons? Each time I feel it towards the end of the run and then usually for the remainder of Saturday and some lingering into Sunday.
I am at a loss as to what to do for this. I know that this, whatever it is, is in the beginning stages so now is the time to nip it in the bud. To do that, though, I need to figure out what it is and how best to treat it.

In the end I managed 20 miles exactly, 10 miles less than last week with a few issues, some temporary, some potentially long-lasting. We’ll see what the next week holds in store, hopefully some answers for or some improvement in healing.