Say it isn't so

The last 3 days have been long.

After Thursdays wonderful tempo run, I started feeling like something was a little out of place in my foot...like something was too tight or too loose or just something not quite right.

Friday I got out to do my 7 easy...at 2.5 I was hurting so bad. The push-off of my heel was killing me.  I tried to walk but that was a million times worse.  It was also 17 degrees and I had my dog with me and he was cold too so walking wasn't going to help either of us.  So, I ran home on my toes (which didn't hurt).  By the time I got home, I couldn't walk.  

Did some research, it my peroneus brevis....the little muscle/tendon that runs down the outside of my lower leg next to my calf, then wraps behind the ankle bone and hooks onto that funny metatarsal bump on the outside edge of the midfoot. It hurt right behind that bump on the bottom of my foot, outside edge. Did a lot of icing and self massage on the muscle. I also did the KT tape on it. I have also done a lot of soul-searching as 18 weeks (or 17 since this week doesn't really count) of really hard training is up in the air for a marathon in 7 days. I spent Sunday afternoon at some friends' house playing string quartets.  One of them is a doctor. I asked him about the foot. He said it's extremely difficult to rupture and pretty much the only way is to sprain an ankle or at least roll the ankle.  I didn't do any of that so it's got to just be angry for the running on packed snow (very uneven and it's a stabilizer muscle) mixed with the frozen ground and sidewalk approaches.  Good news is I can run the race on it if I can deal with the pain (so he says) cause as long as I don't roll the ankle, it won't tear, it'll just be inflamed and hurt real bad.  The ice and rest is definitely helping. I can put weight on it today but all the rest is killing me.  I haven't had 2 days off in a row for MONTHS! And today will be the 3rd day off (even though I can walk my instincts and logic tell me to wait another day to jog).  Seriously, does running during taper week really do anything but ease the mind? The fitness is done right? I was reading in Runner's World new marathon book last night and it actually said to only run 4 days the week of the marathon (which is NOT what my Hansons program says but I'm just looking for piece of mind here). 

I'm so ready to go fast...