Da Feet! Da Feet! Boss, Da Feet!

April 27th, 2009 Posted in Training

C1, C2 and I were out running the DRB50K a weekend ago when somehow the topic of “rich Corinthian leather” and Ricardo Montalban came up (I know, I know but when you run 6+ hours together what else are you going to talk about? :-).  Of course that took me right to my most excellent Tattoo imitation from the Fantasy Island television series back from the late 70s.

So I thought of Tattoo when the inevitable happened and an injury finally caught up to me after 8 months of training.  It reminded me it’s all about taking care of da feet and if you don’t they will bring you down.  So the increase in mileage during Phase Deux of the training regime has led to an overuse injury - my left Achilles heel.  It may have started when I turned my ankle 90 degrees at mile 41 of the AR50 a few weeks ago.  It was exacerbated by last weekend’s DRB 50K which is loaded with steep uphills.  And it was pushed over the edge on Saturday when I went for a 15 miler in Weston at a pretty good clip.  I arrived home with a swollen tendon that hurt to the touch.

Ah well, this is where the “wisdom” of my tender age intervenes.  In the 90s I would have convinced myself, “Just run through the pain…..you can’t afford to get off your training schedule and get out of shape….”  But these days I immediately went into a whole different mode.  I researched the injury on the internet, determined the severity (stage 3 or 4) and recommended length of time for full recovery (2-4 weeks) and put together a recovery plan.  With 61 days until Western I have ample time to recover and actually strengthen my heels and calf muscles - something that will only benefit me on race day.  I also have been cycling and lifting every week so I have the opportunity to significantly increase the cycling to keep my cardio level high and work my quads without further injuring the heel and add calf strengthening to my lifting regime which will help me fight off the plantar faciitis from returning.

So I see this obstacle as a gift - a chance for my body to recover from the recent month of intense training yet not lose the strength and cardio base I’ve worked so hard to build.  I may lose a little edge in the prior two categories but what I’ll gain from being healthy at the starting line more than outweighs trying to push my fitness even further.  I need to peak for Western and with 2 months to go, this gives me an ideal opportunity to do just that.

So let the icing, heating, stretching, strengthening and recovery begin.  ‘Cause Boss, I won’t be defeated by da feet!