I’m six weeks into a 22-week plan for a busy fall schedule:

• Baltimore Marathon – October 15
• Marine Corps Marathon – October 30
• Veteran’s Day 50K – November 12

This will be my first time running a 50K, and my first time running two marathons so close together. I’m a little nervous, but was excited to start training. The first three weeks felt great, and I was happy with my mileage.

But that 15-mile week was not supposed to be a cutback week.

I started having some pain in my foot, kind of on the inside of my heel. It would sometimes feel a little better after I warmed up, but it was still noticeable. It wasn’t stopping me from running, but it was concerning. I only ran six miles on my scheduled 12-mile day.

I took a few days off and went on a trial run the following week, but I cut it short after only one mile. I’ve run through my share of minor aches and pains, but this foot thing wasn’t going away. I was not only worried about making it worse. I also worried I might change my gait and hurt something else. More rest was needed.

Fortunately, I had a vacation planned. We spent all of last week on Hatteras Island — part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. While I usually enjoy my beach runs, this summer they were replaced by long bike rides.

We spend our days reading either on the decks of our rental house or at the beach, so I didn’t have to spend too much time on my feet. Walking on the sand was a bit painful, but fortunately not too long of a walk.

I’m hopeful that it’s starting to feel better, though I won’t know for sure until I try running again. I’ll go on a short trial run in a couple days, and then decide if I can gradually start running again.

Hopefully rest will be enough, but I’ll see a doctor if it isn’t better soon.

In my eight years running, this is the first time an injury has made me stop running completely. It’s hard seeing people out there enjoying their runs. I miss it!