I hate it when that happens...

A week before the Richmond 10k, I went for a run on the Sunday morning, and to make a long story longer, I slipped on some black ice on a hill, and really messed up my left foot. Within a few hours it was very swollen and bruised. The next day my doctor said he thought I had somehow broken a small blood vessel, leading to pooling of blood in the foot. The injury meant I had to pass on the Richmond 10k, so I volunteered instead.

I was getting worried about the Tybee Island (Savannah GA) half marathon in only three weeks, as the recovery was going very slowly. I started wearing a compression stocking to help force the blood out of my foot, and started seeing a massage therapist who specializes in this kind of injury. She was able to hasten the process, and also suggested a homeopathic cream called Traumeel, which seemed to help.

We decided to go to Tybee anyway, as we felt we needed a break. The day before the race, I went for a 1k jog, the first time in a month I had run. The foot was still sore, but I decided to go for it anyway. Race day was cool, in the high 40s, but much warmer than back home. After a couple of miles, I knew there was no way I could have a really good time, as every time my left foot hit the pavement there was pain. And not having run at all for a month did not help. Talk about tapering!

I finished in 2:03, some 16 minutes slower than my PB set in the fall of 2005, and out of the age group placements I would have made had I not injured myself. However, I still had enough steam to climb the 178 steps to the top of the Tybee Island lighthouse a couple hours later.

Savannah is a great place to visit for the history and the seafood was great. While it was not tropical at that time of year, it was still pleasant and I heartily recommend the race.