Half Marathon Training – Week 12 + 13

When planning my week 12 workouts, I had every intention of following the original script. I even penciled everything into my planner.

Well, as we all know, sometimes it’s not about our plans…

Before I explain, here’s what week 12 looked like:

Monday – Arm Burner + 20 minute power walk on the dreadmill
Tuesday – Rest
Wednesday – 3.25 mile run + 1.25 mile walk
Thursday – Rest
Friday – T25 (Speed 1.0)
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – 6.5 mile run

So what happened was…

After a much needed rest day on Tuesday, I felt fresh and ready to knock out 4.5 miles on Wednesday. However, about 3.25 miles in, I started to feel pain in what I now know is my Achilles tendon. Almost like a shooting pain that started right above my heel and shot up my left leg. So I stopped and walked the rest of the way home.

When I told Vishnu and my sister about this pain, they told me I needed to rest and not irritate it anymore. So that’s why the next three days were dedicated to not doing much. Speed 1.0 incorporates stretching into the workout so I thought it would be good for my muscles. Plus, I needed to move my body in a different kind of way. Thankfully, I didn’t feel any pain.

That brings me to Sunday. I started my run at 6 pm and felt strong for the first few miles. I even smiled to myself at one point because I wasn’t feeling any pain. Then right around mile 6 I started to feel a dull ache in my left heel, and slowly but surely the pain started making its way up my leg. I wanted to persevere and keep running, but after staying with it for an additional half mile, I knew I had to stop, especially with the half coming up so soon.

And because I want to write my race recap next week, I’m also sharing what this week’s workouts have looked like/will look like:

Monday: Gaiam TV yoga with Vishnu!
Tuesday: Lots of low impact walking
Wednesday: Lots of low impact walking
Thursday: Lots of low impact walking
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: HALF MARATHON!!!

All of my short runs have been replaced with walking. I don’t want to risk injury this close to race day.

In fact, when I talked to Roshni, who’s a podiatrist, she told me to rest as much as I can, apply a warm compress as needed, and take anti-inflammatory drugs to help with the pain and any potential swelling. She also said I should wear sneakers to work. I responded to that last suggestion with a “maaaaaybeeeee!”

Fingers and toes are now crossed for a pain-free/injury-free run on Sunday. My goal is still to run the whole thing, BUT if I start to feel the slightest bit of pain, I’m going to resort to running + walking.

AHHH…wish me luck!!!

And in case you’re interested, here are links to my weekly recaps:

Week 1 Half Marathon Training
Week 2 Half Marathon Training
Week 3 Half Marathon Training
Week 4 Half Marathon Training
Week 5 Half Marathon Training
Week 6 Half Marathon Training
Week 7 Half Marathon Training
Week 8 Half Marathon Training
Week 9 & 10 Half Marathon Training
Week 11 Half Marathon Training