Fall Speedfest, Weeks 8 & 9 of 18: Hot Mess Edition

As in, I am one. Seriously; in the last two and a half weeks I have just about completely and totally fallen apart.

You might have already read about my 'meh' race in San Jose. (tl;dr - My heart was never really in it, I woke up not really wanting to run, & managed to hold a decent half marathon pace for the first few miles before it became obvious that whether for lack of fitness, heat, or just plain lack of enthusiasm, that was all I had. I jogged the rest at an easy pace for a 1:51:30 finish.)

The worse part, though, was the aftermath on the left side of my body. I've had chronic plantar fasciitis in my left foot for years; it comes and goes in terms of the severity but for whatever reason a few hours after the race I could barely walk on it. I'd like to tell you the week got better, but...well...

~*~*~ Fall '18 Speedfest: Week 8 of 18 ~*~*~

Monday 10/8: Rest

Tuesday 10/9: 10 easy.

My foot was feeling better enough for a run on Tuesday, but after an hour or so my left hamstring started acting up. My left hip has been a minor issue for a while; I've been getting body work on it regularly just to try to keep it functional but no matter how much they stretch it and grind it out it seems to go right back to super tight in a few days. On this run the hip and hamstring felt a little worse for the wear.

I've also been having some issues with my lower back on the left side. It's been feeling tight for the last few months but never awful; lately, though, it's been worse, like I can roll and roll and roll the muscles in my back on that side and the upper part of my left glute but they never feel any better. A few weeks ago a massage therapist told me that my SI joint on that side felt like it was sticking out a bit, like I might have some kind of actual back injury.

Wednesday 10/10: Rest

Thursday 10/11: 6 easy

Heyyyyy I also got my hair highlighted this day! You probably can't tell.

Friday 10/12: 2 warm up, 3 x 2 miles @ HM pace / 1:30 jog, 2 cool down = 10.4 total

Things felt surprisingly good on this run, until I finished the last interval & started the cool down; the pain in my left foot was the worst I could ever remember, even though it hadn't hurt during the fast miles. It was so bad that I barely finished the run & briefly wondered if maybe I had done some serious damage. My back and hip didn't feel great either.

Saturday 10/13: 4-6 easy Rest

This was the day we threw a fall harvest party. I'd planned a few easy miles in the morning, but I could still barely walk on my foot so I skipped it.

Our house looked hella autumnal.


So many decorative gourds

Sunday 10/14: 14 long Rest

Things felt better but I still had bad pain in my foot and hamstring just walking, so I skipped the run in hopes that things would heal up.

~*~*~ Fall '18 Speedfest: Week 9 of 18 ~*~*~

Monday 10/15: Karate

Tuesday 10/16: 3 warm up, 6 @ marathon pace, 2 cool down = 11 total

I was pleasantly surprised that this run went as well as it did, even though I had to start it at 7pm and spend most of it running laps in the Panhandle in the dark. That is, until the cool down; my legs just felt like jello, my hamstring got worse and worse, and by the time I got home I could barely walk.

Wednesday 10/17: Karate

Thursday 10/18: 8 easy

I probably should have skipped this run or cut it short. It felt awful after just a couple of miles. My hamstring and foot were super painful, and my entire body just felt heavy and slow and lethargic. I'm not actually sure how I finished it. I felt like I might pass out.

Friday 10/19: Rest

Saturday 10/20: 2 warm up, 4 x 1600m @ 10K pace / 1:30 easy, 4 cool down = 10.4 total

This run was just awful. I was not sure with my hamstring and foot that I'd be able to run 10K pace at all, but I wanted to at least try. I ran the first mile in 7:09 but it was super hard, so so much harder than it should have been, and each successive mile got harder and harder. Like ridiculously harder, until I couldn't even run one mile at half marathon pace without feeling like I was about to die.

After the fourth one I felt shaky and light-headed and like I might throw up, so I took a little bit of a longer rest; after that, when I tried to run fast again, my hamstring seized up in a way that made it clear that was out of the picture. I finished the rest of the mileage (4 miles) easy, but honestly the pain in my left foot, hamstring, and lower back was so bad that I probably shouldn't have.

The exhausted-and-weak-for-no-good-reason feeling reminded me a little of my low iron bouts in the past, but my recent blood tests have been fine, I've been taking iron supplements, AND I'm not running nearly enough for it to be an issue anyway.


Also this day Don's band had a show to celebrate their 20th anniversary & bt came out to play. We may be shiny but we look good!

Sunday 10/21: 14 long Rest

At this point I decided I really had to accept the fact that something was very very wrong and stop trying to run through it.

This past Tuesday I didn't even bother trying to do the track workout. I thought I'd just try jogging a couple of easy miles & see how it felt, but I didn't get even two blocks from my house before my left foot was in agony.

So, that's where I am. I haven't run since then, which makes me feel like a gross slob. (Though, I have been going to the gym & lifting in the morning, on the off chance that this is somehow related to lack of strength work over the last month.)

I am signed up for OktobeRun 5K in Redwood City this Sunday, and I'm planning to go & try to run the best I can (unless I'm in a ton of pain); hopefully over a week of rest will reset things a little, at least enough to get through three miles at a semi-respectable pace.

In the mean time, I've made an appointment with a sports podiatrist (next available appointment: November 20, ughhhhhh.....) and am researching chiropractors on my insurance. I don't know what's going to happen in the mean time but it's safe to say that my #fallspeedfest is on hiatus for the time being, other than (hopefully) jogging a few 5Ks. :(