Haulted in Houston

As mentioned in my last post (which was far too long ago) I was slotted to spend several weeks in Houston, TX for air quality research. The overall experience was not as bad as expected and, dare I say, even fun (at times). As anticipated, however, the days were long and the breaks none existent; I literally worked 7 days a week 10-12 hours a day. While I liked the change in the type of work (more hands-on lab stuff rather than the paper-writing and data-analyzing I had been doing for the months pre-Houston), it was still exhausting to do it for that long. Needless to see, I'm happy to be back in the cool Northeast on a regular, less rigorous schedule.

Unfortunately and as predicted, my running suffered, though not for the reasons I originally thought. Even though the work days were long, for the first week and a half or so I was there, I was able to get my runs in. The runs I did do were on the treadmill, partially because of the heat and partially because I didn't want to run around the city alone (clearly, I am from New Hampshire), but they were runs all the same. I was starting to feel pretty good at 3 miles and was getting ready to jump up to the 4-5 range. Of course, right when I'm getting psyched about progress, my effing right foot/ankle starts acting up again. I take a couple days off and ice it, hoping it calms down. No dice. In the end, I took 3 weeks off.

With where I'm hurting and how I'm hurting, I think what's going on is peroneal tendinitis. This was my thought before, back in February, but then I was told it was just overall inflammation in my foot by a physical therapist. I'm not really sure how to go about fixing the problem except for taking time off, icing and taking anti-inflammatories. That and stretching my calves madly. Supposedly it's caused by tight calves (among other things) and, to be honest, stretching hasn't exactly been a priority in my post-collegiate training. I probably should start warming up again, even if it's walk-jogging for 5 minutes.

I ran for the first time in 3 weeks on Saturday and then again on Monday. Overall it felt good but I did notice a slight discomfort, which suggests that I need to keep taking it easy and keep on the ice/ibuprofen.

So. Frustrating. It's amazing how three years of inconsistent running and rapid weight gain can make you prone to injury. I mean tendonitis off of 3 mile runs 4 days a week at 8:45-9:00/mile when I used to run 30 miles a week at a much higher intensity? Depressing.

I'm working through it though. Hopefully I'll be able to manage the tendonitis and be able to get going again and have a solid summer of training. I really want to get in shape and get to a point where I'm not embarrassed by my body anymore. But I also don't want to try and train through the pain and get to a point where I'm so broken, I'm sidelined for months. I just have to make sure to keep listening to my body despite my impatience.