A bit of a scare...

I've been trying hard not to overtrain and risk injury this marathon cycle.  The last time I tried to run a marathon I developed what is called piriformis syndrome (pain in the butt, literally).  Although I could have developed this issue doing many other things it was still a huge bummer that took me over a year to get under control.  Unfortunately, the issue hasn't completely gone away, but is manageable for the time being.
Anyway, this week I started feeling a pain in my big toe and with so many friends having stress fractures I began to freak out, and of course, instead of turning to the doctor I turn to the internet.  I figured the pain might just be tendinitis since I've had it before, plus many people said a stress fracture in your big toe is not likely.  Finally, 3 days later I gave in with the fear that I may be making matters worse and that I would have to contact a few race directors and increase my cycling miles if I did have one.
Today I walked into the Dr.'s office, and he didn't even ask for x-rays, he moved my toe around and said it seems like a joint or tendon issue.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief and felt so glad that I don't have to bail on the upcoming events I have planned.  I'm thinking next week might have more cycling days than running days just to be on the safe side, but I'm glad I'm in the clear so far.

Back to the Grind

I haven't really managed to write much because the school year has officially begun, heck, it is already 2 going on 3 weeks deep.  Transitioning to a new group of students is always difficult and often leaves me with nightmares.  However, after 6 years of in school experience (4 of them teaching in my own classroom) I actually transitioned fairly well into this school year and I don't recall the same night terrors of years past.  I'm onto my fifth year as a high school teacher and working my way through memorizing 180 names and praying that 39 students is going to be my largest class.  Although I'm never a fan of work in general I do enjoy my job, plus there is always something new and interesting happening, even if I'm not too happy with what qualifies as "interesting."

This is the first year I've really planned my training so that it starts around the beginning of the school year.  Usually, I plan races for a bit later because exhaustion overwhelms me the first couple weeks as I get back into the routine of talking and walking all day, which is probably why I've had a few more rest days lately than I would normally have.  I am 12 weeks away from CIM and right now I've been sticking around 30 miles a week, but I'll be growing my milege and hopefully increasing my crosstraining in the next couple of weeks as my energy returns.

Oh and one more thing has been taking up my time...2 new kittens!