overdid it

Photo: some of the TNT people during their 20-miler.

Oops. I overdid it today. I think I'll be fine, but it wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. The TNT people were doing 20 miles, since the Nike Women's Marathon is in 3 weeks. My marathon, the Portland Marathon, is this coming Sunday, Oct 4th. Normally I'd do maybe 8-12 miles the weekend before a marathon. I intended to do about 12 today, maybe 14 if I got carried away. Well, I did 15.7. And I ran for a few miles (OK, maybe 4 miles?), causing my IT bands (particularly the left one) to act up a bit. Brilliant, huh? Fortunately, I think the IT bands will be totally fine as long as I rest a day or 2 and NO more running this week. I thought I was over that injury, but every now and then it reminds me that I'm not.

The good news is that 1) I'm not really that tired because I walked slowly for maybe 3-4 miles of the 15.7, and 2) my foot feels totally fine. The real test will be how it is tomorrow.

My orthotics are great. I really like them. But there is one problem: they are just a little bit thicker than my normal shoe inserts (I use the purple Down-unders, available in most running stores) and so my left foot in particular is rubbing on my shoe, and I was on the edge of getting a blister after 15.7 miles. That is just no good. I think I am going to have to do the marathon without them and hope for the best with my foot. That's what many have recommended anyway... and after the race I can work on finding a solution to the problem. Between another visit to my orthotist and a visit to the running store I may be able to figure something out. I'm not eager to switch shoes, as I love my Asics Cypress shoes, but I might have to. However, I am NOT going to do that a week before my race. I'll just go for it and hope that the foot does all right.

Nothing is simple, right? This year has just been too complicated, and having all these last-minute things with my foot is irritating. However, I know I brought it on myself by racing on a hurt foot, so it's just the way it is. At least it will all be over in 8 days.