Back on track (well, almost)

Its been nearly two months since my marathon, and nearly that much time since my last entry. A friend of mine had asked about the life of this blog after the marathon, and at the time I had boldly stated that this blog would continue to live. But over this past month, I had begun to have my share of doubts about that. A feeling of having run out of words started to creep in. I had met my goal, and had written about it - what else was left to write? But that was before I went on a weekend run a couple sundays ago.

I'd spent most of December being stiff and sore, talking about my marathon to anyone and everyone, and writing about it - here, as well as in an article at the Santa Cruz Track Club newsletter. Two wednesdays after the marathon I went back to our weekly track workout and tried to do the whole thing.. but four laps into it, I realized that there was no way I could finish - my right ankle was in some pain. I spoke with Coach Brock, who told me that people tend to be vulnerable to injury right after a marathon, typically. "Now you're telling me!" , I thought. Oh well. Atleast this didn't happen before the marathon. In any case, my plans for December consisted of a lot of travelling and very little time for running. So I decided cut out the running for a month or so and just give myself the time to heal.

It was mid-Jan before I found the time again to go out on a run. I had forgotten all about the ankle, but it didn't take too long for it to come back. It wasn't painful, but my right ankle definitely felt different, more heavier maybe, compared to the left. I waited to see if it would hurt more, but it didn't, and I managed to do the 5 mile loop I had set out to do. Hmm.., was this a sign of a real injury, or is it just a case my leg reacting to the fact that I hadn't run in a while? Only more running would tell.

I went back to track the next wednesday, in order to further experiment with my problem and see if I could still manage it throughout the workout. The warm-ups and the first few laps were OK.. but once I picked up the speed - there it was, again. I slowed down, to a point where it seemed like the pain dropped to a managable level, and completed the workout. Clearly, it had something to do with speed. I checked with Coach Brock and a bunch of experienced runners again - and we ran down a list of common injury symptoms. No easy matches. Oh well. I decided that I had to bite the bullet and actually check with a foot doctor.

Meanwhile, I continued my slow running on the weekend - running slow, and on soft surfaces like trails seemed to keep my ankle happy. Come sunday, and I decided to try out, again, the new trail that I had discovered. This was a route from my house to Pogonip - an open space reserve that adjoins the UCSC campus. Ever since I moved to my new place in Santa Cruz, my regular run was a loop around Harvey West Park - a city park that featured an outdoor pool, couple baseball fields and such. The park ended in the woods, but I'd never gotten to explore the trails in the woods until now. On this day, though, I took the "Harvey West Trail to Pogonip". The trail was nice and soft, due to the recent rains. Soon, the trail started climbing, as it skirted around the on the edges of the hills. Boy, this was quite a climb! I was panting a fair bit very soon. Soon, the Harvey West trail hit "Lookout trail". And soon enough - the woods cleared, and was replaced by green rolling hills - Pogonip!

I had run in Pogonip before, late last year - but this was a very different sight. The grass was a shade of green that I hadn't seen before. Not a mature, dark green - but a fresh, light, almost flourescent green. The trail went back into the woods and I did a couple more miles before turning back. As I came back into the clear, it was time for sunset. the sky took on a thousand different shades of pink and green and blue. It was truly a sight to see. Clearly, this is why I run!

Coming back to the real world, I visited my doctor to get a referral for a podiatrist. The doctor checked out my symptoms, suggested that it could possibly be a "stress fracture", scheduled an X-Ray, and asked me to stop running just in case it was a fracture. There - I was grounded.

I'll know my results next week, but it really doesn't feel all that bad - so Im hoping it's something simple, something that'll allow me to do some minimal/easy running atleast while it heals. We'll see. Luckily for me, a new "speed/strength development" program got started at track, every monday. This involves a brutal series of push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, leg-swings and such like - but the good thing is, it doesn't involve too much running. So I m hoping that I'll put the next few weeks to good use and build some strength, even if I can't run in the traditional way.

Will keep you all posted on the developments... but one thing I know for sure - I m back in the world of running, and it is as fresh as ever.