Phantom Pains

Lately I can’t tell if I’ve got a bunch of phantom pains or if the wheels are actually about to fall off. Training’s been going pretty well, and I’ve been careful not to overdo it, so if I end up hurt I’m definitely not going to be a happy camper.

Sunday’s long run threw the first curveball — my right IT band tightened up in the last couple of miles. That spot has been an on-again, off-again nuisance for years. Most of the time it just stays tight and never turns into anything major, but if it flares up it can hang around for months. Thankfully, an easy run on Monday seemed to calm it down, so I’m crossing my fingers that was just a blip.

Then today I headed out for an easy five. Everything was smooth until the last mile, when out of nowhere I felt a sharp pain on the outside of my right ankle/foot. Kept running for a minute hoping it would fade, but instead I was limping. Stopped, stretched, shook it out, and gave it another go. It was still there at first, but after about a quarter mile it loosened up and disappeared. Totally new pain, so here’s hoping it doesn’t decide to stick around.

And just to keep things interesting, my left Achilles has been grumbling too. Weirdly, running doesn’t seem to bother it much, but little stuff does — getting out of bed, climbing stairs, even jumping for a rebound in basketball. No idea what set it off (probably running, let’s be honest), but for now it’s just background noise.

Ah yes, the joys of aging: every day a new body part files a complaint. Hopefully I’m just being a cranky old man imagining worst-case scenarios. Either that, or my body’s in the middle of a slow-motion mutiny. Stay tuned.