The Ankle Saga Continues

Last time I wrote about my injury, I had just been diagnosed with a torn muscle in my ankle, ordered to wear a brace for one month, and told not to do any physical activity putting weight on my foot. It was a long month. I tried to follow the doctor’s orders as best I could. I didn’t run, aside from two 5ks and a Half Marathon since I had already signed up for those and I am stubborn. My foot has been feeling fine and I haven’t been wearing the brace the last week or so.

I finally had my follow-up appointment on Wednesday, and the news wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Dr. K basically discussed what I need to do moving forward. He wants me to get custom-fitted orthotics for my shoes, which I really want to avoid. I have also been ordered to do six weeks of physical therapy, three times a week. I am still not allowed to do physical activity and have to wear the brace, unless my physical therapists evaluate me and determine otherwise.

Napa Valley Marathon Race Recap

The Napa Valley Marathon certainly won’t go in the books as one of my best races, but I finished it. So I’m counting it as a win.

I avoided thinking about this race as long as I possibly could, in the same manner that I successfully avoided training at all for this race. It really didn’t hit me until I was packing my bag for the trip that I would be putting my body through a 26-mile run again. Once that realization hit, I was more than nervous. I knew I hadn’t prepared. I knew it would be hard. I was dreading it, but I managed to put it in the back of my mind so I could have a good time in California before race day. We spent a couple days in San Jose/San Francisco before heading up to Napa. I happily ate and drank my way through the trip.

Next Stop, Napa

In a few hours, I’ll be boarding the plane and heading to California, where I’ll be running in my second marathon. As I was packing up my race outfit last night, it finally hit me that I’d be running 26.2 miles on Sunday. I’m dreading every step of it. Before the Philly marathon this past fall, I was too excited for words in the days leading up to the race. I knew crossing the finish line would be an incredible experience. I kept picturing my friends waiting for me at the end during my training runs, and I breezed through most of the race with a smile on my face. This time around, I can’t get my head to focus on the finish line part. I just keep  thinking about how hard the race is going to be. I know it will be my own fault. I could have trained so much harder… or really, at all.

My goals for this race are really just to get through it. I have no expectations of beating my Philly time. It will be incredibly warm at 71 degrees and sunny. Not being used to the weather might make it even more challenging. I plan on hydrating as much as possible both the day before and throughout the race. I also plan on drinking lots of wine when it’s all over. Look for my race recap next week!

My Marathon Bucket List

Registration for the NYC Marathon lottery opened today, and I frantically typed in my info and applied as soon as the site was live. Now I just have to wait until they do the drawing in April to find out if I actually got a spot. I am really hoping I get lucky with this one as the NYC Marathon is on my marathon bucket list. I originally posted my list on my tumblr, but now that I have a fancy running blog, it’s worth re-posting. These aren’t in any particular order… just a list of races I’d like to run in my lifetime.