Enforced Taper

So, the back is a little better, but not that much. I've scratched the rest of the week's runs, so will just be resting until sunday (and probably spending lots of time in bed!). It feels better when I wake up and then gets progressively worse, so it seems like the best thing is just to by lying down a lot. I'll do the back exercises That I got from my Dad to keep any of the muscles from getting weaker, use my ice, heat, and ben gay (recommended by a friend's doctor parent) and just hope for the best. I still have 2 1/2 days to recover, and As long as I take it easy, I think that can work. I feel weird only having run 3 miles this week (which, incidently, felt amazing! I took it super super easy and yet still maintained just over a 10 min/mile pace. It was a good confidence booster)

At least I'm planning to walk most of this marathon anyways :)

On that note, I have to (or, I guess, get to) have 2 drop bags at the race (that will be accessible at miles 5.9, 11.8, 13.8, and 16.6- at all but the last aid station. How cool is that?) Having never done this before, what kinds of things does one usually put in these? And, what kind of bag is usually used? I was thinking plastic grocery bag w/ sharpie name? Or should I use a 'real' bag?)

Also, what kind of pain medication is 'running approved' I remember there's one that you really really shouldn't take and one that's okay. As I've been taking lots of pain meds for the back, I'm actually concerned about this and will probably switch over to the okayed medication soon so that I don't have anything detrimental in my system on race day.

Can't believe I'm doing a marathon this weekend....

Ah!

Ack! My Back!

In my effort to finish my strength training routine before I went to class monday, I rushed through the movements and somehow tweaked my back. Its the right lower side, and boy, did it hurt! It didn't really hurt at all at the time, but just got progressively worse until yesterday when certain movements caused me to audiably express how much it hurt!

My dad, an experienced sufferer of back pain, gave me a exercise routine (closer to stretching than a workout though) to help, and told me to do it twice a day and apply ice.

It hurt like crazy last night (and kept waking me up) but is more managable today. My 'ice pack' is a frozen bag of broccoli, and I used that again today after doing the exercises. This worries me mostly because of the Marathon I'm scheduled to do this weekend. However, my dad is confident that if I do what he says, it should be fine in a few days. Here's hoping!

Depending on how it's feeling, I'm going to try for a short run tonight. But, most important is being well for sunday, so it I think it might make it worse, than I'll just cut my losses and rest.

Arg...this is not the time to get hurt!