September 22, 2013: 16-mile long run... a la Pyrrhus

This was the most important week of my training for the Chicago Marathon that will take place October 13, 2013.

On Monday, I didn't workout...as I really wanted my joints to heal from the 13.5 miles ran last Sunday (see that post).
On Tuesday, I did a very easy 5-mi run so see how I was feeling. No pain.
On Wednesday morning, the soreness from Sunday started to kick in: I could barely go down the stairs. Obviously, I didn't go to the gym either.
On Thursday, legs were still sore and I granted myself another day of rest.
On Friday morning, my alarm failed to go off, and I also forgot my running shoes at home... that was clearly a sign for me to not work out that day.

- "Make sure Noé does not work out today, OK?"
- "Amen"

So, Saturday morning came around, and I woke up realizing that I had only ran 5 miles the whole week. That was clearly unacceptable for a 5K marathon runner like me. Then I made a major decision: LET'S DO THIS EFFING LONG RUN ONCE AND FOR ALL! My girlfriend quickly addressed the situation:

I think what she means is "I love you".

Clopin-clopant, she and I left the house and started our little run. This time, she took her roommate's bike so hopefully it would not break down before me.

From mile 0 to 7, everything was fine, however tension was beginning to build up in my muscles so I stretched around mile 7. At 8.9 miles, my right knee was starting to ache so I stopped and stretched. At 11.4 miles, it was my foot's turn to ache pretty bad so once again, I stopped and stretched. And it helped. At the half-marathon mark (13.1 mi), I was running on the Harvard bridge (which really should be called the MIT bridge, but let's leave it for now). Both of my knees were experiencing a locking sensation, and my left foot felt a constant, yet bearable pain.  I did a last break at 13.5 miles and then I went straight home without interruption.

Once home, I wasn't really tired, but my right knee and my left foot were aching pretty badly. I iced the foot right away, took a shower, and applied a huge anti-inflammatory patch ( known as the Flector patch). Then I massaged my knees with a combo of Tiger Balm and pure Wintergreen oil. My legs were feeling hot and good.

Then I looked at my pace and heart rate statistics. And then died.

I miss the times where I could complete a 5K in 22 minutes... Me so slow it's humiliating. But hey, I have tendinitis, remember? Cut me some fucking slack. Also, my heart rate was higher than last Sunday. This is directly linked to the sun and temperature, which was fairly hot toward the end of my run, maybe 80°F.

Now, there are two questions I'm sure you're all wondering:
- Will my foot be healed by the marathon day?
- If so, will I be able to complete TEN MORE MILES than this "long" run?

Well, today is Monday and my foot is still hurting. The anti-inflammatory patch worked very well, but I had to remove it because the diclofenac that it releases interacts pretty badly with my heart. So now I'm stuck with ice and Tiger Balm. Once again: I have hope. Of course, on the marathon day I will let the pain go beyond what I allow for training days. Of course, my blog readers will cheer me on with huge signs reading "GO NOÉ, GO!", screaming at me in French: "VAS-Y PUTAIN, TU PEUX Y ARRIVER!"... But realistically the Chicago police will kick me out because I'm outrageously slow and they will be busy reopening the roads to regular traffic.

Alea jacta est, my friends.