No Stress Fractures in my Confidence

Oy vey. My marathon training was going beautifully:
My mileage was increasing gently, but significantly each week.
My knees, shins and ankles - which usually start to bother me when my mileage gets higher - were all feeling strong.
I was coping well with the heat, but when there were heat advisories, I'd transition to the treadmill in my (FREE!) apartment gym.

I mean, too good to be true. And then it happened...I'm fairly certain I have a stress fracture. DUN DUN DUUUUUUN. :(

I've had stress fractures in my foot twice before. But by the time I get the doctor's office for x-rays, they've already started to heal, and their only advice is to rest. So I've skipped the doctors and the x-rays altogether and self diagnosed. I was tempted to try and keep powering through the pain, but one of my friends (who is also a marathoner) reminded me it will be easier to rest now than rest later, when my mileage is higher. So I took the last week off. My foot still hurts when I walk, but definitely is feeling better.

But BEFORE my rest - last Tuesday - I ran a small 5k race that took place in a park near my apartment. It was a random weekday evening, my foot was hurting, I was over-tired. Everything was working against me. But I had told a friend I would be there to run this with her. And guess what?? I ran a 25:18 5k!!!! That's 8:08/mile pace!! Out of control. I cannot believe I can run that fast. My previous PR was around 30:00. It shows that hard work pays off.
And as an added bonus, I just happened to step on the scale last week and I'm down 8 lbs since I last weighed myself. SHUT UP!

So while I've had little-to-no social life, go to bed at 8pm on the weekends and spend my mornings soaked in sweat, plugging away on the roads -- it's all paying off. I feel great, I'm really proud of myself and I know this marathon is going to be my best ever.
Fingers crossed my foot starts to feel better soon!!