Cowboy Hazel

I took three unplanned days off because of tendonitis in my right foot where the big toe attaches to the metatarsal. It had been getting worse and worse, but I hoped it would go away and tried to ignore it. But by Saturday morning, my foot was all swollen and red and I knew it wouldn't be smart to keep pushing, especially considering that I have a 50 mile race in less than a week – that thing's gonna be tough enough without having to deal with injury. So, instead of the 30 or so miles I was planning over the three day weekend, I logged exactly 0. I feel horrible. Both my body and my head have come to depend on running and even this short of a break wreaks havoc on my sanity. But, again, I was trying to be smart and knew that I needed to let the swelling go down so I fought the urge to run.

This morning, my foot looked good and it didn't hurt when I bent my toe. So, I tested it out again with a little 1.4 mile loop over to the River with Helen. It was fine for about a half mile but then started hurting again. Even now, three hours later, it's still aching. But there is no visible swelling and it's not red like it was. I'd hoped to get in a real run this afternoon, but now I'm not sure what to do. I obviously want it to heal up, but at the same time, I really want to run and I feel like I should get in a few miles early this week to keep me from being rusty going into the 50. As always with these things, I wish I had a crystal ball so I could know what the right decision is...