At some point while training for a marathon (or any goal race really) the mileage and workouts begin to take their toll. I was very lucky when I was training for Big Sur because I made it to the starting line injury-free, which is one of the hardest parts of training for a marathon.
However, the training plan I was using was relatively lower mileage and I had hardly any workouts. This time around my mileage is much higher and I have more speed workouts like marathon pace runs, tempos, and Yasso 800s. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE doing the speedwork and I get sadistic pleasure out of seeing my weekly mileage on Daily Mile increase and increase. But my legs have a different take on this training plan than my head.
For the past week and a half, my lower left leg has been a bit wonky. It started off as an annoying little pain in my shin but then moved to my calf and on Tuesday’s run I was feeling the pain up and down my IT band. I decided to change my plan for the remainder of the week so I’d be able to run my first 20-miler this weekend but I’m still uneasy about how that’s going to go.
I broke the number one rule of injury prevention: If something hurts for two straight days while running, take two days off. So I took two days off, Wednesday and Thursday, and am hoping my 8-miler will go better today, especially if I take it super easy. Fingers crossed!
Fit Girl. Happy Girl. 
Good luck!! I have been battling a few aches and pains too around my ankles. It seems as though when one gets better, the other one decides to hurt. I had to take two weeks off for a strained tendon but my first few days back have been alright and I am hoping to make it to Chicago feeling prepared and injury-free!
Fingers crossed the wonky leg gets better. A few days off combined with some TLC of stretching and icing usually does the trick!
Good luck and fingers crossed!
I noticed some outer knee pain at the track this week and immediately cutback for the rest of the week. I’d rather miss a few days of training than ruin my marathon. Fingers crossed for you :)
Good plan to take some days off after noticing some pain. Hope you are feeling a little better!
Good luck and heal quickly! Increasing mileage magnifies any form issues we haven’t been dealing with (or didn’t know about). Have an open mind and explore your posture/hip alignment, especially when you’re at the tired end of your runs.