I went out for my 20-mile run yesterday and only ran 8. This whole week I’ve had pain in my left foot – in the EXACT spot where I had a stress fracture before, and I’m a little freaked out about it. My philosophy has been that if I don’t post about it and ignore the situation completely, then my foot will magically get better. When I went to the doctor before and was diagnosed with a stress fracture, his response was “stay off it for six weeks”. I’m not at a point right now where I want to do that because I AM running a marathon in three weeks. So I guess I’ll keep pretending that I’ll magically get better. Is it better to run a marathon under-trained or with an injured foot? Woe is me.
But on to other things, this is the week I eat like a Spartan and become strong, thin and kind to all things big and small. So, just what do Spartans eat? Whole grains, veggies, a little fruit, low-fat dairy, lean protein and lots of coffee. I know for a fact that Spartans consume huge amounts of coffee, I don’t make these things up but we’ve all got to play by the rules.
I’ve started off my Spartan week with some yogurt, a handful of granola and a few almonds – plus a huge cup of coffee. Who am I to upset the Gods? If you’d like to join me in Spartan week, just take a picture of every meal and snack, or write it down, and post it next Monday, that way we can all be a loving and caring Spartan family together.
Oh, and FYI – this week of Januaryathon looked like this: Runner Susan = 21 miles and LOSER Amy = NOT 21 miles.
Be careful and smart about your foot. I’m with you…I’d rather go into the marathon with a little less training than an injury.
done and done.. picture taking that is. 🙂
and careful with that foot. the LAST thing you wanna do is be injured, try and run 26.2 miles, further injur yourself and DNF.
obviously thats worse case scenario, but don’t set yourself up for failure is all i’m sayin! stay healthy!
Loser Amy would have liked to have been able to run in 60 degrees and SUNNY weather, instead of 23 degrees with clouds, wind, and SNOW.
So is it totally blond that as I read about Spartan week all I can see in my head are the cheerleaders from SNL?
Be kind to your foot, remember they are what the fab. shoes go on!
Your foot will smite you back if you don’t take care of it – oh yes it will!
I am still trying this ABS diet thing but like your foot, it smites me. Perhaps the Spartan plan will work better.
Take care of the foot! So, does this Spartan diet include copious amounts of wine?
I’m in for the picture taking but it will likely be quite Un-Spartan. Maybe it’ll scare me straight.
Not what you want to hear, but you can always walk part of the marathon with undertraining…you sometimes end up not being able to walk at all with an injured foot. Just be careful.
I found the following “Spartan” fat-burning tip when training for Xterras, which will allow you tap into alternate fuel sources when racing and training, courtesty of the July 2007 issue of Triathlete Magazine:
1) Skip breakfast in favor of just coffee (no cream or sugar)
2) Do a long, slow run, have some more coffee and try to delay breakfast for awhile.
4) FEAST
Expect some serious fatigue later in the day. What this does is deplete your body of glucose, which in turn forces you to burn fat more readily. Apparently, the feast that follows will accelerate your metabolism.
I’m not very spartan-like, but I may just have to take pictures of what I eat. May be interesting.
I hope the pain goes away soon. Maybe some cross training will help?
Better to be undertrained than injured. Listen to your bod girl!
you won. case closed!
your foot. not case closed. i follow the same medical advice though. ignore it and it will go away. so i can’t really help you there.
i ate pop tarts today. i don’t even LIKE pop tarts.
i. hate. everyone.
have a nice day!
I’m a spartan eater for sure. Until the biz-natches in my office show up with chocolate chip cookies or something evil like that.
Boo pain!
Foot insane!
Health maintain!
Go Spartane!
I just ordered the paleo diet for athletes book! Its very spartan like. hubby just baked choc chip cookies though….can we do a spartan week again sometime? haha (after the cookies are gone 🙂
I just ate a Wolverine. I don’t eat Spartans. Oh? Am I missing something?
Are you missing something? Like a calendar? Your race is in five weeks. Plenty of time to undertrain.
Be careful with your foot.
I highly recommend doing spinning during the week in place of running. I have a friend that did spin during the week and ran her long run on the weekends. She PR’D the marathon by 35 whole minutes! (From 5:20 to 4:50)
Let that foot rest and I will leave the smokes alone! 🙂
Make sure you look after yourself Susan.
Looking forward to the photos.
“LOSER Amy”! I like a sister who puts the boot in.
Well, if it’s in the ‘pre’ stress fracture stage, it won’t show up in an MRI or bone scan. My advice is to just see how it goes in training. If it becomes too painful, don’t run the marathon. Get cured and live to run another day.
Suz,
I just realized that SALT is showing up in 5 pound increments on me! Watch the salt, too. Nobody needs a salty spartan with a bad foot! Hang in there SuZun!
I am starting a mix of the ABS Diet and recipes from the Eating Clean recipe book on Monday. I don’t want to lose pounds, but I definitely do want to melt away the jelly on my belly.
Keep an eye on the foot. I hope that it’s not too serious.
fyi – I’m totally failing at this spartan thing. I hang my head in shame!