No-mans land - Corina's Marathon Blog

Well, the jury is still out on my foot. I went to see Dr Chad on Monday and unfortunately didn’t get the definite diagnosis I was hoping for. I should know better really, I know how tough it is to diagnose anything even with the multi-million dollar scanners that we don’t have.

So, biomechnically my foot is moving well. But there is more pain than there should be over the area where I have hurt it. Movement has been getting better in the last week as I have managed not to aggravate it for a whole week, but it hurts more than it should when pressing on it. I’m afraid to run, or even jump up and down in case I hurt it again. The prognosis is that if I rest it and it heals up in the next week or so it was injury to the muscles. If it doesn’t and takes longer then I probably have a stress fracture in it. So, I am left in “wait and see” mode.

I don’t know where this leaves me for the marathon. I have already missed almost a month of training so I am way behind where I should be, plus I can’t jump back in to where I left off when I have healed, I need to start slowly and build up my fitness and the pounding on my foot. That puts me even further behind, and it is all assuming I can start training again in a week or so.

It has made me evaluate why I am wanting to do this marathon. If it was in order to receive that Tiffany’s finishers medal then I can walk the course. I know I could finish the 26.2 miles if I walk it. But that’s not why I want to do a marathon. I want to prove to myself that I am up to the challenge, that I can achieve it if I work hard and put the training in. To do that I actually need to run the race, not walk it, and I need to finish close to the 4 hours I had set my sights on. That goal is looking unlikely at the moment.

I’m having to ask myself some hard questions right now. Do I hold on to the goal of running my first marathon in October, knowing that I may set myself up for a bigger disappointment in a few weeks, or even in a few months if I don’t make it? Or do I draw a line under it now and move on to whatever my next goal will be. It’s a tough choice and it is not one I can make alone as it will affect Alan as much as it will me. For now, until I make a decision on my marathon future, I am wandering around in no-mans land.