Ramping up to the half-marathon

The training schedule we follow calls for a three-mile run 3-4 times per week, and increasingly longer training runs each weekend leading up to the March 18 Tom King Half Marathon.

Ran 8 on Friday 2/10, on a flat circuit of .8 miles in Joppa, MD. My peroneal tendon thing (see below) was ever-present, but the primary impression was that the second half of the run was much more comfortable than the first.

Ran 9 on Friday 2/17 in the fairly hilly terrain around home in Hendersonville, TN. Again, it takes 1-2 miles before the persistent discomfort in the left foot eases. The last couple of miles were pretty tough; I must report that I thought the run was over a mile too soon and I really had to grit my teeth and persevere once QMH set me straight on the 10 minutes left to run.

Now, some thoughts on injury:

First, if you're middle-aged, take the aches and pains seriously. Find out what causes them, and try to make 'em go away. Some 12 years ago, I had a round of plantar fasciitis in my right foot. This is an inflammation of the big bundle of tendons that runs along the bottom of the foot from heel to toe -- big limp, big pain. The doctor recommended better shoes, and more conscientious stretching. The problem went away and never returned.

More recently, in late October 2005, I developed a pain in the left foot -- not the plantar thing, but very persistent at a low level of discomfort. This time the diagnosis (in mid-November) was a strained peroneal tendon. A month of anti-inflammation pills (and deeply curtailed running schedule) didn't do much, and neither did a round of physical therapy, although the stretches I learned were helpful. Walking, pivoting, stepping off the curb wrong, all these things can make it twinge. Sit in an office chair for a couple of hours, and I sometimes really feel it in the first few steps.

In January, I finally ran out of time for pampering, and resumed my full half-marathon training regimen, being careful to stretch before and after runs, and to ice the foot after the long ones. Running doesn't seem to make it worse, so I'll keep stretching, and keep on training.

Here's a recipe for a reusable water-and-alcohol ice bag.

In the end, this one is not going away, and middle-fifties seems to mean discovering a new aches-and-pain baseline.