Marathon training has been sidelined for today. Trying not to freak out!

I'm been following my training program to the T, but today I have to let it go and not freak out because I have to take it easy. I did my 8 mile run yesterday and came home in a lot of pain. My right shin is killing me. I'm iced it and I'm doing ibuprofen regularly. I won't be doing my schedule 5 mile run today. I'm resting up for Saturday's long run.

Please tell me I'm not "cheating" myself. Please tell me I will be able to complete the marathon given that I had to take a day off. I'm averaging about 35 miles a week now and my body is starting to react. Please tell me I won't be one of those people who get this far (a month to go) and have to back out. I have to do this. Ugh!

Okay, I'll chill out. Tomorrow is another day and my body will thank me for the extra rest day. I will get back on track. I'm in good shape and I've worked hard for over two years now. I will be ready! Right? Ugh! I will.

You're going to be fine!  REST is super important, especially if you are in pain.

I think I read somewhere that most people complete 90% of their scheduled training...and I thought that was pretty high - so you are doing great!

Thank you! I think I read something similar. It sure is a balancing act, isn't it? Thanks again for the encouragement.

You will be fine , you have to rest when you NEED it.

Thank you! I truly appreciate the encouragement!

you will be FINE.... i'm  training for the goofy challenge and am only going to run 3 days a week.  Also, i was injured (from overuse) during my marathon training last year, and skipped a entire week and half of training and was fine.  no worries, just rest up :)

Thank you for sharing your experience. I appreciate our encouragement!

Here are a few tid-bits to help with perspective. If you can't get to the start line, I guarantee that you won't finish. If you get to the start I can almost guarantee that you WILL finish. When I did my second Goofy, I did it on a 16 mile long run. I was vastly under-trained but finished.

If you make it to the start healthy you will finish. MAKE IT TO THE START! A minor set back won't hurt the overall program. They are made to be tweaked. Don't add anything extra to the program. Take a rest day.

Thanks Scott! I appreciate your encouragement and suggestions.

Building on Scott's advice, if you find that  the pain is continuing, consider more cross training so you have time to recover before the marathon.

Because of an injury before the Disney marathon, I used spinning and the eliptical to put in the training time so I was healthy enough to run the race.   I never ran more than 10 miles during that training cycle, but I put in the same amount of "training time" as the plan called for.

So, for example, if a 16-miler should have taken almost 3 hours, I'd spin or do the eliptical for an hour and then immediately run for 2 hours.  This method won't get you to Boston, but I finished in 5:28 with a smile on my face, and I was able to resume training to run a 4:58 for my next marathon 4 months later.

Listen to your body and give it the rest it needs.

Cassie