The second to last week of marathon training is done. I can’t believe it. That means only one more week until the big day that I’ve been counting down for 5 months. My teeth hurt just thinking about it.

Sadly, it was the worst week of training ever. After last week’s 12 miler, my tendon just wasn’t getting any better. The one good thing about the pain getting worse, and even hurting when I just walked to work, was that it was easier to tell where exactly it was hurting – and it wasn’t my achilles. The pain is actually in between my achilles and left ankle, leaving me to believe I may have posterior tibula tendonitis (self-diagnosis, I haven’t been to a dr yet). Look it up – every symptom that is described, I have. So, this week, not really by choice, I took it easy and only ran 10 miles. No, not 10 miles at once – 10 miles total. Ouch.

As I sit on the train from NYC to Albany (more on that later), I hate typing this update. I feel so defeated, so crushed and so destroyed. The week only called for  21 miles total – 3 mi, 6 mi, 4 mi and then 9 mi. Here’s what I did instead:

Monday: 6 mi – Wasn’t due for anything on Monday, but instead went out and ran my 6 for the week. And it felt great! While I was running. Post-run, and for the rest of the week, I was in pain. Hm, maybe the running the 6 on an off day wasn’t the best idea?

Tuesday: 35 minute elliptical – Was not feeling so hot in my tendon, so opted for a post-work elliptical workout. Probably again not the smartest – I put it on the highest incline, so after the workout I could feel my tendon inflaming. Note to self – using the elliptical on an incline is not great for a tendon pain.

Wednesday: 1.25 mi run (at just sub 9 min mile pace!) and then 20 min on the elliptical and then 30 min on the bike – Still trying to get some activity in instead of running. Biking and ellipticalling will help, right?

Saturday: 3ish (didn’t clock it) mi run around Central Park – Was in town to visit my family and celebrate Mother’s Day and it was beautiful out. Felt great to get in a run on the trip, but my feet were killing. I’m still getting used to my orthotics, so I’m hoping that was the reason for the pain.

Of course the weekend included a good amount of walking, including walking from our friend Jared’s apartment to my brother’s dorm (about 30 blocks or 2 miles) and walking the High Line with my parents … but still, I wish that the pain would go away and I can’t help but feel nervous about next week’s race. What if the not running these last two weeks doesn’t actually help me (and help me heal) but hurts my stamina instead? Can you get out of shape in 2 weeks?

End this post on a happy note – on the beautiful High Line with my parents: