Doctor's Orders

It is almost worth it to have my first first running injury because I love it when the doctor refers to me as a marathoner. I had to hold back my giddiness every time he said it, especially since he is a big marathon director and all. So, now that I am an official Marathoner (tee hee), I have to deal with my first real injuries. After a few x-rays, poking, and prodding I got the good news: No stress fractures!!!!!!  After researching my injuries on the internets, of course I self diagnosed my painfully swollen foot and decided my course of treatment before I even set foot in his office. The problem may likely be a combination of my super high arches and my Superfeet inserts, as well as the fact I have a nasty bunion that is putting the joint of my first metatarsal all out of alignment. Thank goodness my doctor and the podiatrist he consulted are both runners. They understand that foot surgery is going to take me out of the race for possibly a year, crushing all my dreams to set new PR's in 2011.

So, the plan is to rest, do low impact training for 2 weeks (he suggested biking), and try a SHORT run to see if I am pain-free. He really emphasized that the key to recovery is patience and not logging log runs before I am all healed. So 2-3 mile runs 3 times a week after my first pain-free run on a rubberized track, minimize running on hard surfaces (i.e. cambered asphalt roads), and then gradual build up a few weeks after that. He says february is going to be too soon to run a half (boo), and that I need to run less races next year unless I want to be on the injured list forever.

So, after much consideration of the doctor's advice, here is the first draft of the 2011-2012 race calendar:

Davis Stampede 10k February 6, 2011

Loop the Lagoon (Vacaville) 5k April 30, 2011

Windsor Half Marathon May 22, 2011

Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon July 17, 2011

American Canyon 10k August 8, 2011

Nike Women's Marathon (SF) October 16, 2011

Walnut Creek Half Marathon December 10, 2011

Bidwell Classic Half Marathon (Chico, CA)  February 4, 2012

Napa Valley Marathon March 4, 2012