Saturday musings

Today was a fairly typical Saturday-- long workout in the morning followed by Indian buffet with Dan and a long afternoon nap. Unfortunately I'm still having heel/arch pain, so I did two hours on the trainer and only ran 4 miles. Typically this would be my long run day, logging about 15 miles or so. Actually, since I'm in marathon training I would've like to have done around 18. But instead just a lousy four.

I seem to have the worst luck with the Houston Marathon. I train for it every year, and only once have I actually run it, in 2001. Even that was a questionable choice, since I had been injured since November and unable to run during that time. It made for a painful marathon! But I had already paid, the race was on my birthday and even if my doctor hadn't cleared me to run, I might've still done it anyway. Runners are stupid that way.

But in subsequent years I've tried to be smarter, training for the marathon but figuring I wouldn't actually pay my money until I was sure I could finish the training without injury. I never have. I always turn up hurt somehow. But this year, with registration already over 70% and having had a biomechanical problem fixed last spring, I felt that I both could and should sign up early. So with $75 gone, now I have yet another one of my weird injuries that no one else ever gets. No, this arch pain isn't plantar fascitis. That would be too easy. This is something else and I haven't a clue what it could be. A bruise would be my first guess, based on the type of pain I feel, but I haven't had an injury that I recall.

So I think I'll play around with different combinations of shoes and orthotics tonight and see if I can come up with something that might feel comfortable for even a short run tomorrow, or at least a decent session on the elliptical trainer. Most likely I'll just end up at the Y. Swimming, maybe a bit of pool running and some weight training. Now I'm wishing the weather hadn't turned cooler. Deep water running can be fun in open water, but deadly dull at the pool.

In other news, the car is still in the shop. It's not a radiator leak, thank goodness. There are apparently two leaks, though. One is a hose leak around a clamp. That's a cheap and easy fix. The other leak is a little further back, where the radiator connects to the engine. The mechanic needs to remove a few things to get a better look, but thinks it's probably a flange. This will be a little more expensive, but shouldn't be outrageous. Of course one can never tell with an older car, but I'm feeling somewhat optimistic. At least it's not the radiator itself.

Having the car in the shop puts me in a bind for my Monday massage. I'm way too slow and stiff to forego it, and it will be a tricky thing to manage since Dan and I will be carpooling. And since he has a therapist appointment Sunday afternoon, I'm not sure if I want to try to get a massage Sunday instead. It would mean walking over there, which isn't so bad, but might not work with the other things I have to do tomorrow, or with the pain in my foot.

Decisions, decisions...

Today's Workouts:
Two hours on the bike (Spinervals 9.0 Have Mercy)
4 mile run