1st week of rest

It's been a week after running the half-marathon of Berlin and I think I should keep track of my recovery and my mistakes, to avoid doing them again!

Let's recall the facts shortly: after a gentle training of 10 weeks, reaching a distance max of 16km, running mostly on trail and smooth surfaces, I attempted to run the 21km half-marathon last Sunday. Overall everything went well, despite the big step in distance and changing for a hard concrete route. I finished in a reasonable 2h30, not bad for a crippled runner like me :)

The after race went well too. Except for some stiffness in my muscle and sole, I had no pain or discomfort and I could walk normally back home. The next morning, nothing more to notice, apart from light muscle pain in the legs. I was delighted, already planing to resume my training on the next weekend!

You would think I should be wiser and really careful, and you would be right! That's the thing: I was so focused on pain during the event that I forgot to pay close attention during recovery too. Although not feeling anything, my plantar fascia was undoubtedly weakened after running 21km on concrete, and I should keep it at rest fore some time.

However, the next day was one of these Mondays when nothing goes right and I had to run to catch the subway... 3 times! Wait for the next one? Nah, that's for losers. I had just tackled the half-marathon, I could do a few sprint sessions... Well, as it turned out I couldn't!

A massive pain stroke me on Monday evening after running for the 3rd time. The kind of pain I haven't felt since the day of my injury. Fortunately I was almost at home but I could barely walked the last hundreds metres. I was furious at myself - I still am - and decided I really should take better care of myself if I ever want to run long again.

As a start, no running until next month! My foot needs a lot of rest. I resumed and intensified icing and stretching sessions of my calves and plantar fascia, rubbing Voltaren on it three times a day. I also got my tennis ball and foam roller back to work. Finally, I am wearing my Asics all day long and my orthotics in my slippers at home, to get the best cushioning possible and give my foot some well-deserved rest.

It's been a week now and my foot is already getting better, though I feel I am still more injured than two weeks ago. I hope I will be back on the trail for some short runs next month. In the meantime, my four favourite letters are R-E-S-T ;)