6 weeks out with tendonitis-help!
Hi friends! Long-time lurker, have learned so much from this group and so grateful for that! I am a certified sufferfest seeker and signed up for Speedgoat this year. Prior to this block, I have run 10 or so road and trail marathon and ultra races (55k longest). Mostly injury free except for a longtime OCD lesion on my talus on the left side which I do PT for. Usually no pain with this at all, though I fear my gait is maybe slightly altered as a result of it.
This build had been going beautifully- was up to 50mpw with 6-8k gain (18mi longest long run with ~5k vert). Had no pain besides generalized soreness and then went out for a run a couple weeks ago and had new onset 6-7/10 pain in my left outer ankle radiating up the lateral shin- likely a peroneal tendon tendon irritation based on the many PTs ive chatted with in the last couple weeks. I took 2 full weeks off from running. In the interim have been strength training 2-3x/week and then doing some HIIT (modified to take out any high impact/intense jumping) and a lot of longer sustained incline hikes on the treadmill (60-120 min at 12-15%) to try and maintain fitness. These activities do not cause any pain. Recovery-wise, I have been doing a lot of foam rolling, icing, NSAID therapy, ankle strengthening exercises, calf raises. Went out today to test it out and I have 0/10 pain while walking but probably a 3-4/10 while up in a jog/run. Not quite enough to cause a limp, but it feels like a soreness/warmth that would get worse with a longer effort.
Looking for any or all advice for anyone who has dealt with this! I like to think I still have a bit of time before needing to call it on Speedgoat (6 weeks out), but I am supposed to be in my peak build right now and it really super sucks to be in this weird grey area. I am a pretty strong uphill hiker (needed for this race lolz) and this doesn't cause any pain right now, but i am nervous i wouldnt be able to maintain pace on the downhill to not get kicked off the course in July. I know speedgoat lets you defer a year, but I will be moving to the (flat) midwest next spring for a very rigorous full-time grad school program and don't think I will have the time or access to terrain to train for the race, even if I'm fully healthy! Likely will go out and support whether I am able to participate or not, just don't know where to draw the line with attempting to run. I'm 29 and want to run for many many more years and don't want to injure myself enough to set me back further. Thanks!!