so week before last i ran my 200th mile, and also that week hit my first week of training 20+ miles. i was feeling pretty good about this accomplishment (and callie, thank you for my 200+ mile card! it really made me smile).

the following thursday, feeling so good about my training and all, i pushed myself through a really hard speed workout. i felt great, but when i got home my left achilles tendon was kind of sore. for the next week i limped along, taking 2 days off, it'd get better, then i'd run and it'd get worse.i had two lower-mileage weeks and then called my marathon coach, who sidelined me for at least a week, telling me this is not an injury that i can "run thru". since my dad ruined his achilles tendons permanently by running, i realized i should probably take the advice seriously.

but, as with most things in my life, as soon as i stop worrying about a thing and actually have to face it, i'm pretty good at making a plan and moving forward. i was dreading having to take a week off, but now that i am, i'm using the week to focus on stretching (my lack of stretching mostly definitely being the source of this injury in the first place), doing more ab and core work, and supplementing with other cardio workouts. i was feeling a little stressed/burned out anyway, not with running so much as making time to run, so i think this break will probably be good for me mentally. also, the weather is beautiful in chicago right now, so i'm enjoying riding my bike a lot more.

as i write this i've got my foot up on an ice pack, and i am following my coaches' instructions to the letter: taping my heel, wearing shoes with low heels on them to keep the achilles tendon short, taking a lot of ibuprofen (vitamin I, as many runners refer to it), and of course, trying to stretch several times a day. i was complaining of tight calves over the past few weeks, but not really doing anything about them, so this is what i get.

i'm excited that i know a number of people running the marathon now, tho. myself and callie, of course, and also my uncle paul, my friends jack and rebecca, and a number of other acquaintances. of course, if you live in chicago, running the chicago marathon is nothing special - seems like half the city does it! still, it will be awesome to have company on the starting/finishing line.

tag, callie, it's been a while since an update - how goes with you?