The Magic 8 Ball of training with an injury

True to my word last week, I took some time off of running to see if my calf would heal. We had an amazing 48 hours in San Fran, where I subbed in a 16 mile bike ride for my would-be long run. When we touched back down in NYC, I headed to PT to get a better idea of what was going on below my knee.

The Diagnosis Posterior Tibial Muscle Strain, most likely from jumping back into training too fast after being sick. Crazy how a single bad call can derail months of good practices, but hey, another lesson in the books.

The Outlook It's a close call. The Philly marathon is 5 weeks away, which means if I recovery properly, and the stars align, I could squeeze out the race by the skin of my teeth. With my history, this will take a lot of work. Speaking of work...

The Plan After speaking to my coaches, we've decided to pull back entirely from running for the next week. Peak training starts this weekend (hello 3hr runs!) so the timing isn't great. I'm pretty nervous, but I don't have a choice. Instead, I'll be doing my time on the bike and in the pool, with calf raises and balancing work for strength. Lots of sports massages, ice, and a spin on the ultrasound machine to amp up the healing.

Needless to say, I have a lot of feelings about this. Mostly, I'm bummed out. I have worked really hard, and I'd love a happier ending. Staring down this injury, I can't help but remember all of the failed attempts that came before. The months on crutches. Will I or Won't I? Can I make it, or is this the final nail in my marathon coffin?

I won't go there, not yet. I am taking it one week at a time. This week, I'll focus on my cross-training, and remind myself of how crazy lucky I am to have had all of these healthy fun training months this season.

It is not as if I don't have plenty of other goings on to occupy my time: next week I start a new job! The final tick in a long list of changes this year- from moving, to getting married, to starting our art collective, and (crosses fingers) running a marathon! Phew!

Holding my breath till next week!