With three weeks until the event, I have a sharp pain on the top left side of my left foot. Freaking annoying/frustrating. I have wrapped it and am now laying off running.
Considering two options (Doctor wasn’t one of them as it feels like a light sprain).
Cycling and swimming are totally fine and I had been hitting 10 mile runs with no problem before this. Could I just stay off of running for three weeks and then compete? Anyone have success with this?.. Or am I looking to really screw it up.
or
Just turf it after T2 and log a DNF
I’d say with three weeks left, you were done improving the run and are in taper mode anyways. So you should be fine doing biking and swimming for the taper. You won’t lose any level of fitness or preparedness. Decide when the race is closer if the foot has healed, or if you risk injury by running on it. While I’m not typically in favor of DNS, sometimes it is better to be able to run another day.
I’ve had top foot pain on one side of the foot before, and I know another guy who just recently had the same thing. Both of us were 100% recovered by the end of the week. So lay off it, but I would give it a shot in 4-6 days and see how it is. If it’s under a week of no running, that’s not too bad.
Lay off for a few days, ice appropriately and then test your foot to determine the status. Don’t worry about your base. You will be fine if you injury is nothing serious. Keep biking and swimming and supplement water running on your running days, if possible. Good luck!