Training recap: 1/4-1/10

Week 5:

Monday 1/4--Easy 5@5 this morning with Jess in her 'hood to start off the week.  I was a bit tired from my triathlon at Lifetime Fitness the day before, and Jess was feeling a bit off herself, so we kept this one relaxed for both of us.  The rain held off and we got the miles done.  Overall pace: 8:59.

I felt exhausted on Monday evening (lack of sleep on Sunday night plus back to work on Monday AM) so I chose to skip Power Train this week.  Good choice overall!

Tuesday 1/5--rest day (I did go to physical therapy today)

Wednesday 1/6: First specific speed workout since March!  Met Tamara, Jon and Allison L. for 6 miles starting at the rec center.  

Horrible selfie LOL!

2 miles warm-up, followed by 3 miles at a 7:45-7:55 pace, and a mile cool-down.  I wanted this first tempo run to be at a bit slower of a pace (my PR half marathon was at sub-7:40 overall pace, so my tempo pace technically should be a bit faster).  The three miles were 7:52, 7:51, and 7:38 (downhill for most of last mile).  I felt great during this run.  Mile 2 was quite hilly, but I felt strong!  No heel pain till we finished, and ice as well as stretching throughout the day helped that. Overall pace: 8:22.

Thursday 1/7--
AM: Recovery run with Allison S.  We met early so we could get in the 5 miles and then have a quick Starbucks date.  Love my runs with this mama!  Overall pace:9:20. Felt great as well during this run.

Couldn't stop laughing!

PM: 30 minutes on the trainer (no clue about pace/distance as I don't have my speed monitor yet), plus 5 minutes of pedal drills that my friend Tracey recommended.  Physical therapy after the ride.  

Friday 1/8: rest day

Saturday 1/9--14 miles on tap today as we continue to build up miles.  There were no less than ELEVEN of us at the run today!  Such a big, fun group of ladies.  

The last 7... we really did start with 11!

The support from these women is nothing short of phenomenal.  Tried super hard to keep the pace at around 9:00/mile, and was pretty successful (overall pace 8:58).  But... and this one's a big but... 

I'm hurt. Again.  I'm praying hard that it's nothing, but my heart is saying it's not.  My left outer calf started to feel tight at around mile 9.  I could feel it continue to get tighter.  By around mile 10.5 it was actually starting to hurt.  I didn't know what to do.  We were doing an out-and-back... I had to either walk or run to the car; I couldn't just stop.  The others ran ahead (they actually had no clue my calf was bugging me--I didn't say anything, and they typically speed up towards the end anyway).  Megan S. stayed back with me as she wanted to keep her pace at 9:00/mile as well.  We stopped twice--once for her to have a potty break (I stretched and massaged my calf), and once for me to stretch again.  Neither of those stops helped.  Truth be told, I probably shouldn't have ran the final 3 miles.  I could feel my leg with every single step and it didn't feel good at all.  I begged Megan to entertain me with stories about meeting her husband, her kids, etc.  This helped me make it through till we were done.  

Since I've been home, I've iced three times and stretched and rolled a bit. Not sure what I should be doing.  Dr. Google says I have a soleus strain.  I know my body pretty well at this point, and I'm fairly confident with my diagnosing skills, especially when it comes to calf issues.  All I know is that it hurts.  I am positive I couldn't run to save my life right now, as walking is uncomfortable.  

Bet you're all wondering about my plans, huh?  Day by day, that's how I'll be taking this one.  I can't get lost in the enormity of the situation... this is why I am doing a 20-week plan, so that a week or two off won't affect my training too much.  I'm hoping that's all it is.  Please, if you're a praying person, send one upstairs right now?  I've worked hard to be smart leading up to and within this training cycle, and for things to go downhill right now... I just don't want to think about it.

Total running miles for the week: 30 
Total cross-training workouts: 1 (definitely not doing anything tomorrow)

Race recap: Lifetime Indoor Tri

My second-ever triathlon is in the books!  I did the Tri for Hope last summer and really enjoyed it, even though I wasn't 100% healthy at the time.  Training for triathlons agrees with my body--less stress from all of the running, plus it is way more interesting training for three sports than for one!

Lifetime Fitness has been putting on these triathlons nationwide for a few years.  Last year I didn't sign up in time, so this year I made sure that I registered early.  Here is how the triathlon works: the swim is 10 minutes long.  You swim with one other person in your lane and a volunteer counts your laps.  When the the time is up, you have 10 minutes to change clothes and head upstairs for the bike portion.  You get 30 minutes to ride on the spin bikes, and a volunteer logs your total mileage.  Finally you have 5 minutes to transition to the treadmills (which are literally 20 yards away), and you get 20 minutes to run as far as you can on the 'mill; distance is also logged by a volunteer.  Results are calculated by assigning point values based on who goes the furthest distance in each of the three sports, with 100 points going to this person and lower points assigned to everyone else.  Pretty cool concept!

So, about that triathlon training that I mentioned in the first paragraph... I really haven't been training for a triathlon. That's no secret if you're following my blog.  Swimming once every two weeks, and hopping on the bike once in the past few months... yeah, that's not really training.  I figured I'd rely on muscle memory and hope for the best!  Of course, I always set goals.  My three goals were: 600+ yards on the swim, 9+ miles on the bike, and 2.5+ miles on the run.  Spoiler alert: I did achieve all three :)

My friend Allison and I signed up for the race together, and we were assigned to the same "wave", meaning we got to do all three sections together.  We split the lane for the swim, and cycled and ran side-by-side. It was her first-ever triathlon and she did amazing!!!  Truly, doing the tri with her was the best part. She picked me up and we got to the gym at around 7 AM so that we could get our bearings, as neither of us belongs to Lifetime, and also figure out our bike settings ahead of time.  A few friends were in the 7:40 AM wave, and a few others in the 8:00 AM wave with us, so we had plenty of people to chat with while we waited. 

Pre-race selfie in the swanky locker room!

From a logistics standpoint, everything was extremely well-run.  The swim started exactly at 8 AM.  I was able to get in about 150 yards warm-up before we started.  I felt a bit sluggish during my warm-up, but that's typical for me.  I figured I'd feel good once the actual swim got started. Not so much.  

The calm before the storm...

I felt very cramped (the lanes are super skinny, and I kept worrying I was going to accidently hit Allison), and I  just couldn't get into a groove.  In fact, I started to hyperventilate at around 150-200 yards (about 3 minutes into the swim).  I have no clue why... I just felt like I was going to have to stop.  I hate this feeling... I felt it during my open water race and my outdoor tri as well.  I never ever feel this way during practices/training, so I definitely need to figure it out.  Today, the only way I felt I could continue to swim was to alter my pace, so I just slowed down.  I felt so disappointed in myself, but it was the only choice I had.  I also started making silly technical mistakes that I don't typically make (e.g. pulling with my top arm off my flip turns, and breathing my first stroke off the walls).  I figured I was just doing what I needed to do to get through the swim portion.  I did wear my new Garmin for the swim.  My average pace was 1:36/100--about 6 seconds per hundred slower than I anticipated swimming. My 100's were 1:26.3, 1:36.2, 1:41.3, 1:43.3, 1:43.3, 1:40.3, and a half lap that got rounded up for my final total of 25 laps, or 625 yards.  So, yes, I met my goal, but barely, and I seriously felt awful doing it.  I was so freaking happy for that swim to be over so that I could get out of the water!  

Blurry me :)

The transition to the bikes was very smooth.  TMI maybe, but thankfully my friend Tracey was there, as putting on a tight running tank top was NOT easy when you're super wet from a swim!  Allison and I were able to change and get upstairs with a few minutes to spare, which was nice so that we could get our bikes set and warm up a bit on the bike before the cycle section officially started. 

Before the bike section started... being silly with Tracey and Allison!

This part of the race was the hardest part for me, physically. I am definitely NOT in cycling shape right now!  I will say that it was my favorite part when it came to the volunteers--they were extremely attentive and great cheerleaders as well!  I was not in a happy mood on the bike.  I tried to smile and joke with Allison, Tracey and our other friends who were there cheering or volunteering, but I was just not happy. 

Hating life, for sure!

I was working hard and not loving life!  I was able to keep my pace above 20 mph for almost the entire 30 minutes, and ended up with 10.4 miles total.  I was pretty freaking happy with this--actually, out of my three sections, this distance by far surpassed what I hoped to do.  My legs were jelly getting off the bike and I knew the treadmill run would be tough.

Me tri-ing my hardest!

Luckily we didn't have to walk far to get to the treadmills, so I had time once we got over there to stretch out a bit and at least get my legs prepared to run for 20 minutes! 

Honestly not sure when we took this but I love the pic!

It was great once again to have my cheerleader-friends there (especially Jamie and Tracey)--they were also super photographers too ;)  I set the treadmill at a modest 7.1 mph to start (this is around an 8:30/mile pace) and kept it here for the first 5 minutes or so to warm up and get my legs going.

Allison was having waaaay too much fun lol!

I increased the speed every 5 minutes or so after that, and the final bit I pushed it all the way to a 7-minute mile (only for about 90 seconds though!).  I ended up just barely making my goal, going 2.52 miles total (average pace of 7:56/mile).  I can't believe that I actually was able to race a half marathon at a pace much faster than that!  This run showed me I have a lot of work to do, but I'm willing to do exactly that. 

SO happy to be finished!

This recap makes it sound like the race was awful in all respects.  It wasn't, honestly.  What it did do, though, is remind me that triathlons, whether they are indoor or outdoor, are no freaking joke.  It's one thing to do a swim workout.  Or ride the bike for a bit.  Or go on a run.  But combining the three is insanely hard, especially if you want to do it well.  I need to remind myself that I am not in training right now for a triathlon, but for a marathon.  This summer, tri training will happen and I will be ready for my first half-Ironman.  For now, though, it's back to running (with a bit of swimming and cycling on the side for cross training!).

The results for the race won't be available till Tuesday, so I will update with them later :)

Awesome MRTT mamas tri-ing it!

My partner in crime--love her!

Couldn't get this pic to insert in the run section, but I love it too much not to add it in!

Training recap: week of 12/28-1/3

Week 4:

Monday 12/28--
AM: Back to POWELL (not Dublin LOL) with Jess.  We did an easy 5 miles to start off our recovery week.  The run flew by even more quickly than usual.  Grateful it wasn't raining during the run (only before and after!).  Overall pace: 9:11.

PM: Tonight was a boot camp party at Power Train.  We had over 30 moms there!  So much fun... the workout wasn't a typical one, but I still felt like it was good.  Several friends signed up, which makes me happy, as I love workout out with others.  

Tuesday 12/29--rest day

Wednesday 12/30--4 miles with Allison, Allison and Megan before boot camp.  Took advantage of being on break this week to run AND do boot camp!  Overall pace: 9:08.  I love how I feel during boot camp if I run beforehand... it warms me up and I feel like I get a much better workout!  Boot camp was hard, as usual--mostly arm stuff!

Thursday 12/31--Met up with Amy and Jess for their normal 6 AM Thursday run (again, thankful for break so that I could do this!).  5 miles in awful freezing rain with hard wind!  Ugh!  The way out was fine, but we ran straight into the wind on the way home and had to pick up the pace to get through it. Overall pace: 8:50.

Friday 1/1--rest day

Saturday 1/2--Huge group of us (NINE!) met up at the Genoa trail for a drop-back week run of 10 miles.  3 out and back to drop off Lori (and for me to have a pit stop at UDF--eating poorly for the past few days = bad tummy issues!), and then 2 more out and back.  Most of the girls pushed the pace for the final two miles, but Tamara and Megan hung back with me so that I could keep the pace easy.  Overall pace: 9:00.  

Sunday 1/3--I will be competing in the Lifetime indoor triathlon tomorrow morning!  Excited for this one.  10 minutes of swimming, 30 minutes on a spin bike, and 20 minutes on the treadmill.  I'll be sure to blog about this one!

Total running miles for the week: 24 (plus whatever I run at the tri tomorrow)
Total cross-training workouts: 2 (plus tomorrow's triathlon)

Other miscellaneous notes:

At physical therapy on Tuesday, Jenny did another gait analysis for me.  She said that I'm heel striking less (which is a good thing), and that my cadence is still 184 (which is also a good thing).  Still pronating slightly on the right side.  Right hip/glute showed a big imbalance, ugh.  I have several exercises to do that will help with this, all of which leave me very sore!  A 14 mile run is waaaaaay easier than doing these exercises for a few minutes... but all in the name of getting stronger I suppose. I had another session with her on Thursday, and then I have two more sessions next week.  I don't really feel the iontophoresis is doing anything, so I doubt we'll continue the PT after next week.

My new Garmin came! I've used it twice, and plan on using it during the tri tomorrow.  It's big and awesome :)  I love that I can review splits on it without plugging it into my computer.  I also love the 20 hour battery life!  There is a ton I can do with it (gotta study the owner's manual I suppose).

Other big news: My bike and trainer are FINALLY set up!  My mom gave me a bike computer for Christmas, but sadly it doesn't work with my trainer.  So I'm going to return it for one that is compatible with my Garmin and is a bit cheaper actually.  Right now I am practicing learning how to clip in and out. Harder than I thought it'd be!

My bike and trainer are in our newly-renovated sun room!

Coming up this week: my first tempo run since MARCH!  Craziness... I have ran fast since then, but not a specific speed workout.  I spent a couple of hours on New Year's Eve finding appropriate speed workouts.  Most of them, I got from the McMillan running website.  It's a free site but if you pay $1.99 per month you can access a lot more, including speed workouts with the correct paces for you as an individual.  Definitely worth it to this runner, who really doesn't have a clue with speed work!

A very quick glance back, and a longer look to the future

Ah, making resolutions.  Something that I have loved to do for as long as I can remember, but this year I've dragged my feet a bit on this blog.  Not because I don't want to write new resolutions; I have lots of goals for myself this year floating around in my head just itching to be put down on paper.  It's because writing this blog entry means that I need to revisit last year's resolutions.  I knew what my big goals were even without looking... qualify for Boston and run 1500 miles.  Nope and nope.  I hate failure... hate it SO much!  But if I am going to be honest and put myself out there, failure is at some point inevitable.  Both of these goals were not met due mainly because the first goal that I set was not met: to stay injury-free.  This resolution annoyed me last year, and it annoys me even more now.  I know that no one can really control if they are going to get injured.  I did have a goal of running smarter in order to stay injury-free, and I honestly do believe I ran smart in 2015 about 90% of the time.  It was the couple of times that I didn't that left me at home lamenting what could have been.

There was one resolution that I made that I actually did accomplish: to continue to run with friends and run with joy.  This was honestly the most difficult part of not being able to run for so many weeks this past year. I missed my friends something awful!!!  When I was running, though, I surrounded myself with people who had my back 100% of the time.  My circle is huge and I love having so many amazing women who share my love for this sport!

OK, as the title of this blog states quite clearly, I am taking a "very quick glance back" on 2015, and that glance is over.  I don't want to dwell on the year that could have been.  It started out amazingly fantastic with my huge half PR in Virginia Beach, but since that race (well, a couple of weeks after) things haven't really been so hot.  Time to stop looking back and start looking forward to 2016!

1. Train smart.  This is a huge goal.  It is going to make or break my year, I am sure, so it needs to be my #1 resolution.  I need to keep in mind everything I've learned in 2015 and actually live it this year.  Training smart includes running each run how it's supposed to be run (pace, miles, etc.), working to keep injuries at bay by doing my PT exercises, and taking the appropriate rest days (during the training cycle) and weeks (after my big races).  

2. Qualify for the Boston Marathon. I'm not going to mince any words here.  This goal was so close that I could taste it back in March.  I have it in me... I just need to get to the starting line at Glass City in April.  Goal is a 3:35, which not only will qualify me (the standard is a sub-3:40 for my age group), but actually allow me to register for the race.

3. Compete in my first half-Ironman (HIM) race.  I have no time goals for my first HIM in August.  Some people absolutely don't believe that I can do this race without a time goal.  Honestly, though, my first triathlon back in July showed me that tri's are a totally different beast, and it's going to take me years to truly understand how to race them.  So for now, I'm fine with a "finish" goal for this one.  

4. Find gratitude in every run.  I never, ever want to take running for granted, not ever again.  So, even when it's windy and freezing rain like today's 5 miles, I want to be sure to take a second to thank God that I'm able to run.  Too many days without running has definitely instilled this into me!  Gratitude will be that I am out there with my friends, breathing in the air and moving forward.  

Product review: PlowOn gum

The idea of caffeinated gum has interested me for quite a while.  I'm not a coffee drinker, as my friends know.  I don't drink a lot of pop either--maybe a can or two a week.  I do love chai lattes from Starbucks, but those are also a treat and not a regular thing.  Since I simply *must* have gum when I run, I figured the combination of caffeine and gum would be right up my alley.  

PlowOn gum is a mint-flavored Mento-sized piece of gum with 100 mg of caffeine, 10 mg of taurine, 5 mg of green tea extract, and 5 mg of ginseng.  Most of you probably know what these things are.  Taurine is an amino acid that has many benefits, including increased energy production.  Green tea extract is an antioxidant that is supposed to help increase physical performance.  And ginseng has been said to help increase energy levels as well as help athletes lower their recovery time.  However, the amounts of these additional ingredients are extremely low, so I'm not sure how much they are actually helping out.  It's the caffeine that is the powerhorse in this gum.  100 mg is the approximately the same amount of caffeine as an 8-ounce cup of coffee contains.  A Red Bull contains 80 mg of caffeine, and a can of pop 50-60 mg, for comparison purposes.  For someone like me, who drinks neither coffee or energy drinks, this is quite a bit of caffeine.  

I have tried the gum out on a few different occasions since receiving my free samples.  The first time was at home.  I needed to see how I'd react to it before I actually used it in conjunction with running, so I chewed a piece one morning when I was very tired before school started.  I didn't seem to have any adverse affects, so I decided to chew a piece before a recent 4-mile race.  Since then, I've used it two other times--once before a very early run when I felt very sleepy, and once when I was out of my Orbit Sweet Mint gum (and I can't run without gum!).  

Each time, I have definitely felt a "boost" from the gum.  My friends have noticed that I am even more chatty than usual when I chew it.  I actually like the taste of it--a very strong spearmint flavor.  Another positive is that it maintains its flavor even after you've been chewing it for 20 minutes (about the amount of time that is recommended to chew it to get the full effect of the gum).  I had two running friends try it out, as well as my husband.  One friend hated the taste after a minute or two--this is the caffeine being released, which other reviewers have mentioned is a bitter taste.  My husband said the same thing and had to spit it out.  My other friend, however, loved it--she's a runner-gum-chewer like me and found it to be very tasty and also energy-giving.  

I am planning on ordering more of this gum (the company sent me two free sample packs of 5 pieces each), and right now they have a deal for free shipping if you use the code "joy".   Here is the link: http://plowongum.com/buy/product/energy-gum-by-box/  It's also supposed to give you 25% more gum, but for some reason I don't see that coming up on the checkout, so I've sent them a message to figure out what's going on.  I'll update this blog once I hear back.  I don't want to get into a habit of using it every day or anything, but it is sure is nice for a boost!

Training recap: week of 12/21-12/27

Week 3:

Monday 12/21--
AM: Fantasy of Lights run!  This was super-fun!  5 miles total running through the amazing display of lights.  I did the first mile with Theresa for her warm-up for her speedwork, and then dropped back and ran the rest with Tamara and Allison. Overall pace: 8:28.  We had trouble slowing down!  It was a bit misty out, but overall the weather was just perfect. 

PM: Boot Camp at Power Train.  Big group tonight--Allison and her neighbor Audra came, as well as Sharon!  We had a great time working out. 

Tuesday 12/22--met Allison at the rec center for a swim.  Typically I can't swim on weekday mornings as the pool isn't open til 6, and I have to be at work before 7.  With winter break, however, I could make it happen!  We chatted more than we swam, so I only got in a mile, but it felt good to stretch out my heel.  My PF always feels better after a swim.

Wednesday 12/23--6 miles with the old Lewis Center crew (my "book club" LOL).  This was a reunion run, as the group seldom gets together to run anymore.  It was good to see everyone together again!  Overall pace: 8:42.

Thursday 12/24--4 easy solo miles in my 'hood.  Wasn't planned as a solo run, but it was good to breathe.  This was the first run in ages where I didn't feel even one single iota of PF tightness/discomfort... not sure why, but it was nice. Overall pace: 9:00.  

Friday 12/25--rest day--Merry Christmas!

Saturday 12/26--14 miles with Amy and Allison L.!  Lori joined us for the first 7.  I love these ladies and I felt good during the run.  Heel pain was very minimal during the run (sore after, but lots of icing and mobility/stretching exercises throughout the day helped a ton).  Overall pace: 8:57.  The first several miles were right on track, but we sped up slightly at the end.

Sunday 12/27--14.5 miles on the bike at the gym.  I still don't have my trainer set up, and I need to get my bike adjusted at the Trek store.  Felt tired of making excuses, though, so headed to the gym to get in some miles.  Overall pace: 17.4 mph.  Nice and sweaty! 

Total running miles for the week: 29
Total cross-training workouts: 3 (yay!)

Other miscellaneous notes:

Big week/month for me... highest miles for a week (29) and for a month (over 100!) since March!  I'm happy to report that I feel good.  As long as I keep up with my stretching and icing, I can deal with the PF.  I saw my physical therapist, Jenny, on Wednesday this week.  Love her!  She's a runner so it's fun to "talk shop" with her.  She did a few glute strength tests and was disappointed that I haven't kept up on my exercises... she said that having an injury makes me more prone to other injuries, like PF.  Ugh.  Hooked me up to a machine for iontophoresis, where electrical current ran through my foot from my achilles down to my heel.  It was tingly, but that's about it.  But maybe it helped on Thursday, when I felt really good?  Who knows... she did some soft tissues massage as well.  I see her on Tuesday this week and she's doing to do another gait analysis. 

On Christmas Day Joe gave me his Visa card to buy my gift--a new Garmin! I've been eyeing the 910xt, which is a triathlon watch. It will track my swims and my bikes as well as my runs.  I can't wait til it arrives!

Big news today: I finally hit the "register" button for Glass City!  The price goes up in a few days, but only by $10. I contemplated waiting another month or two, but I decided to bite the bullet.  

The upcoming week is a recovery week for me. I've put one in every 3 weeks in this training plan.  Goal is easy miles, and a bit lower mileage.  Looking forward to running with friends as well as cross training a bit.  

Training recap (week of 12/14-12/20)

Week 2: 

No post-run selfies this week... just didn't take any, not sure why! 

Monday  12/14--
AM: 5 easy peasy miles with Jess.  I wasn't sure that I would be up to running after my race, but Jess promised we'd keep it easy, and she made good on her promise!  Overall pace: 9:20.  Felt super good!
PM: Boot camp at Power Train.  Allison joined me for this workout and it was so nice not to be solo on a Monday night!  Dan worked us pretty hard, but again, I felt really good.  Sore glutes from my race, but that's it.

Tuesday 12/15--rest day

Wednesday 12/16--5 miles in Lewis Center with Erin and Steph.  I had planned on meeting Christine at 4:45 before my MRI, but her son had kept her up all night so when she canceled, I figured I'd be running solo up and down Polaris Parkway.  I texted Erin and she said to book it to Lewis Center and meet her and Steph.  I am glad I did--haven't ran with them in awhile, and I have missed them and the route!  Overall pace: 8:43.  Felt great :)  No evening swim workout because I had to bake 6 dozen cookies for a Christmas cookie exchange on Thursday!

Westerville runner mamas at the exchange!

Thursday 12/17--5@5 in Dublin with Becky, Lori, Lisa, Allison, Carol and Suzy.  I had made plans to run with Becky but she'd forgotten, so she asked if I'd join the Dublin girls today.  I enjoyed the different route!  Overall pace: 9:11.  Feeling great still!

Friday 12/18--rest day

Saturday 12/19--long run day!  12 miles on the Genoa Trail with Jess, Amy and Amber. I was apprehensive about this run... my last injury occured during a 12 miler in June, and I needed to get past this mental hurdle.  The plan was to run nice and easy, keeping at 9 min/mile.  We failed at this (overall pace was 8:51 and not a single mile was in the 9's), but as Jess said, at least we didn't run an 8:30/mile pace! ;)  This run was filled with stops--four shoe-lace-ties (Jess x3 plus Amy I think), one flying headlamp, and one stop to GU at mile 6.1.  Felt great, though! 

Sunday 12/20--hoping to get in my first bike ride on the trainer!

Total running miles for the week: 27
Total cross training workouts: 1 (hopefully #2 will be tomorrow, if I can get my bike trainer set up today!)

Other miscellaneous notes:

I had my MRI on Wednesday morning, and got a call on Friday at lunch from my doctor.  It is never a good thing when your doctor takes the time to call you; this I know.  So I was pretty nervous when she started to discuss the results of the MRI.  "Severe plantar fasciitis, with a partial medium to high grade tear of the fascia.  Possible stress reaction of the cuboid bone."  I almost died... these were not words I was expecting.  I'd had such a great race on Sunday... and such a wonderful week of running.  How could my injuries be that bad?  My doctor was able to fit me in that afternoon so that we could discuss matters further.  When I went in, she immediately felt my foot and pressed hard on the spot where the MRI showed a "spot"... no pain.  None at all.   She said that it was likely just fluid, and that we'd disregard the findings.  Disregard the findings!  Can I get a woot, woot?!!

Snoopy happy dance after meeting with my doctor!!!

This was music to my ears, but there was still that partial tear to discuss.  When I expressed my concerns, she examined my foot, noting that I was actually experiencing less pain than I was the previous week.  In fact, it didn't even hurt when she pressed on my heel.  I was kind of shocked.  I was even more shocked when she told me that as long as I still wasn't limping or altering my gait, she was fine with me continuing to run.  I went from thinking I would be in a boot for the next month, to hearing, "Go ahead and do your 12 miles tomorrow."  Crazy!  She did suggest physical therapy, as they will be able to do photophoresis (where steriod gel is applied via ultrasound), and she's had patients who have had PF and it has worked well for them.  So I scheduled my first PT appointment with my fav PT, Jenny, on Wednesday afternoon. 

As I said, overall, I've felt so great all week.  My heel was a bit sore on Monday, but icing and stretching this week has helped.  I never had anything more than a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 on any of my runs this week, and I've felt good just walking around at work and such all week as well.  Praying this is the beginning of the end of my PF!