Feb. 25th Update & Race Schedule

Hey everyone!  I wanted to write an update to tell you about my last race and let you know my race schedule for this coming spring.

Race Report:  On February 15^th, I ran in the 26.2 with Donna Marathon in Jacksonville, FL.  I was leading a pack of the top women at 6 miles when we had to transition from the road to the beach for a 2 mile stretch.  I twisted my ankle in the soft sand during the transition and tweaked my Achilles, but I was able to get back going and stayed right in the lead pack of women for the 2 mile stretch on the beach, hoping that my Achilles would feel better when got back on the road at 8 miles.  As we transitioned from the beach to the road we again had to run through another section of soft sand and once again the sand gave way under my foot and I twisted my ankle again and this time significantly strained my Achilles.  I tried to walk it off again but couldn’t place any weight on it so had to withdraw from the race.  I was devastated, as I was feeling good until that point and excited about being out in a competitive race and leading the pack.  I also really loved everything else about the race including meeting Donna and all the great people associated with the race, doing a social group run on Friday with Joan Benoit Samuelson and meeting and hanging with some great fellow marathoners. I also greatly appreciate the race's hospitality while I was there.  Great people associated with this race.

Achilles Update:  I got lucky, it was just an Achilles strain and not a tear as I first feared.  I was able to get into and see my expert team at Carolina Sports Clinic on Monday and they confirmed the strain and no sign of a tear (had full strength still).  They worked on the Achilles and I took the next 4 days off and treated the Achilles with contrast baths, rolling, and light stretching exercises multiple times per day.  It worked as by Friday I was pain fee and able to do some light jogging and ran easy over the weekend.  On Monday, I went back to CSC for some more work and dry needling to get the rest of the junk out the area.  As of today I am feeling back to 100% normal but will wait until next week before I try to do any quality running on it.  I 100% recommend that any athletes, especially runners and triathletes in the Charlotte area, to go see Josh, Brad and Leah and the rest of the staff at Carolina Sports Clinic if they have any injuries or issues.  They have really been there for me this last year whenever I’ve had any aches and pains along the way. 

Schedule Update:   Ok so I have spent the last 2 weeks planning out my schedule for the next few months until my next marathon and here is what I tentatively have planned.

April 25^th :   Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-Marathon (Half Marathon) – Louisville, KY

May 17^th :   Rite-Aid Cleveland 10k – Cleveland, OH

June 20^th :   Grandma’s Marathon – Duluth, MN

So a 10k’s, a half marathon, and a marathon and possible 1 or 2 smaller races I might use as training.  Hoping to take my PR’s down some in each if weather and training cooperate.  Excited to run a 10k’s again to get my speed on and keep marathon pace feeling easier. :)

Happy Running!

Alana