So my time deployed is coming to an end shortly. I am excited to get back home after almost a year of being gone. My goal is to keep training for the 40 - first, a marathon on April 13th in Raleigh, NC, and then another on the 4th of May in the hills of western NC. Hopefully those two runs will prepare me for the long run in June.
How did I fare on my running goals for this deployment? I was able to run the Marine Corps Marathon (Forward) this year, and am happy to have had that experience. However, I was not able to make the goal of running without injury, which was one of my big concerns coming out here and starting long distance training.
I went on R&R during November, and had a couple of great weeks home visiting my family. I think I went on one four mile run, but for the most part just enjoyed the visit. When I returned from R&R, I started doing some warm-up runs, no more than 3 miles or so. The runs themselves didn't bother me. One morning though, I woke up to a strange and painful sensation of a rock underfoot. When I realized that there was no rock, I started worrying that I had injured my foot somehow. I took it easy for a couple days but the pain would always be present in the morning, when I took my first steps out of bed.
I went to the doctor and physical therapist here, who poked and prodded. From a preliminary internet search, I thought it might be metatarsalgia - a swelling of the capsule around the 2nd metatarsal joint - but my doctor thinks it might be osteoarthritis. The physical therapist didn't have much for me besides some stretches, which didn't really help.
I was discouraged because of this minor injury - although I would like to work through the pain, I don't want to hurt myself permanently for the sake of an ultramarathon. However, I started looking on the bright side. The pain only irritates me first thing in the morning, and then goes away. After a two week rest, I have started from scratch, starting with a mile and increasing about 10% every week - which is what I started when I first got out here. Running on a paved surface doesn't bother me at all, but whenever I step on a stone while running, it hurts like hell. After all, I am striking with the balls of the feet first, right where the pain usually is in the morning - but it goes away fairly quickly. After a month or so, even the pain isn't always present first thing, so I think I am healing. Once I get back to a world of paved roads everywhere, I think I will definitely be on the mend.
When I get back I have already asked to see a specialist about my foot. Even though I have worked my way back up to the mileage I need for training, I don't want to do permanent, long-term damage to the feet, and hope that another opinion may give me some better options to allow me to train AND heal. The good news is that I should be seeing them sometime next month, which means I'll be home for good.
How did I fare on my running goals for this deployment? I was able to run the Marine Corps Marathon (Forward) this year, and am happy to have had that experience. However, I was not able to make the goal of running without injury, which was one of my big concerns coming out here and starting long distance training.
I went on R&R during November, and had a couple of great weeks home visiting my family. I think I went on one four mile run, but for the most part just enjoyed the visit. When I returned from R&R, I started doing some warm-up runs, no more than 3 miles or so. The runs themselves didn't bother me. One morning though, I woke up to a strange and painful sensation of a rock underfoot. When I realized that there was no rock, I started worrying that I had injured my foot somehow. I took it easy for a couple days but the pain would always be present in the morning, when I took my first steps out of bed.
I went to the doctor and physical therapist here, who poked and prodded. From a preliminary internet search, I thought it might be metatarsalgia - a swelling of the capsule around the 2nd metatarsal joint - but my doctor thinks it might be osteoarthritis. The physical therapist didn't have much for me besides some stretches, which didn't really help.
I was discouraged because of this minor injury - although I would like to work through the pain, I don't want to hurt myself permanently for the sake of an ultramarathon. However, I started looking on the bright side. The pain only irritates me first thing in the morning, and then goes away. After a two week rest, I have started from scratch, starting with a mile and increasing about 10% every week - which is what I started when I first got out here. Running on a paved surface doesn't bother me at all, but whenever I step on a stone while running, it hurts like hell. After all, I am striking with the balls of the feet first, right where the pain usually is in the morning - but it goes away fairly quickly. After a month or so, even the pain isn't always present first thing, so I think I am healing. Once I get back to a world of paved roads everywhere, I think I will definitely be on the mend.
When I get back I have already asked to see a specialist about my foot. Even though I have worked my way back up to the mileage I need for training, I don't want to do permanent, long-term damage to the feet, and hope that another opinion may give me some better options to allow me to train AND heal. The good news is that I should be seeing them sometime next month, which means I'll be home for good.
