The Napa Marathon is this Sunday. I signed up to run with 4 other folks (all Relay veterans!) and put together an aggressive (but not insane) 16 week training schedule.
Things were going very well up to week 13 (when I hit a new PR at the SF Half). After the SF Half, I had an odd soreness emanating from the TFL on my right leg. Strangely, I couldn't stand on just my right leg without pain. My regular session at SMI helped a bit, but things didn't get better after a week.
My massage therapist suggested I head over to PAMF and see someone in Sports Medicine. Fortunately, I got in to see the highly recommended Dr. King. After 10 minutes of "can you move your leg this way? Does that hurt?" and a few questions, he told me he suspected a femoral stress fracture. A subsequent bone scan bore this out. Bottomline is that I am out of commision for 8 weeks to 6 months - it varies widely. A major factor is rest :-(
Instead of running this Sunday, I'll be on the sidelines, cheering on my wife and friends. Chris will be completing her first marathon and feeling a sense of true accomplishment that most people will never know.