Races Like a Girl

I haven’t run a step this week. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck until sometime on Wednesday, in fact. And I’ve got some minor problem with my left achilles tendon. After the first marathon, it was a problem with my left foot.

I’m waiting for that pain to go away completely, since you don’t want to screw around with your achilles tendon, oh no. I will probably do some time on the stationary bike this weekend, and look into some short, easy treadmill runs next week, depending on the tendon situation.

The odd thing about this post-marathon period is how swollen my legs and feet have been. I’ve been carrying around about four extra pounds of water, and it’s all in my legs. My ankle bones disappeared and I’ve had chubby little feet. Don’t know what that’s about. But the extra weight’s almost all gone. And I’m back on the rabbit food diet, so still pursuing a weight loss of an additional 10-12 pounds.

I ran the race with a new gadget: the Garmin 305 wrist computer. It has a GPS (and is about the size of a toaster oven). The data is so accurate that I can see in humiliating detail exactly how badly I ran on Sunday. But it’s a great little tool, and I’m hoping it will bear better news in the training months to come.

Summer has arrived in NY and it’s (say it together) “hazy, hot and humid”. I have freelance work again this weekend, but it’s what pays for the running shoes and expensive toaster oven watches, so I don’t mind.

I will take some time to do some planning for the base building period that starts sometime this month, once I’m fully recovered. It should be pretty easy to plan: “Run a lot. Then run some more.” My goal is to get up to 55-60 miles per week, injury free, by mid-October, at which point I’ll go into a five month marathon training cycle. The best laid plans…

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