I wasnt sure where to post this. It's a mix between beginner and injury. I'm a beginner and I'm not sure if I have an injury. I was cruising along in my training when I noticed a pain in my ankle. Figured it was just any other ache and pain so I kept going. I got up to 22 mi, and then started tapering down. Still felt the ache off and on. Typically would be ok up to miles 3 or 4, feel it off and on for 5 min, go away for another few miles so on and so forth. I had an 18 miler where it started to intensify and felt shooting pains half way. Finished, but it was really sore. Took a whole week off (5-10-5-14), went to the Dr. where x-rays were negative (stress fractures don't show up normally though). He said I needed an MRI but insurance wouldn't cover it. He said he couldnt diagnose without the MRI (I hate DR's something fierce). So, I've basically backed off most of my long runs.

Since the Dr's visit(3 weeks ago) I haven't been over 9 miles. Fairly typical for beginner training, but I'm worried about two things: 1. Am I injured? 2. Am I in shape to run? Since I had gotten used to the heavy mileage week to week, maybe it's natural to feel fat and lazy in the last weeks with the taper down. I was hoping somebody may have a similar experience or advice for a newby. Thanks for looking.

Hey Roy,

Well it sounds like you may have just an overuse injury which I am sure you know is very common in runners. I would be interested to know your training program. If you have a good program you should have done enough to get you in the right shape for a marathon and your tapering period should be just to make sure your body is in perfect condition come race day. But at the same time a good training program will make sure you are doing the right things to prevent injury in the first place. As for whether or not you should run, I think its your call as you know what type of training you have done and how serious your injury is. I don't want to tell you that everything will be fine because I don't know exactly how you have trained and the last month your training has been interupted. If you don't run this marathon when is the next one you could run?