"Phantom" Pain?

I was undecided about what to do today.  My schedule called for a light run of about 5 miles and I was going to do a lap around Miramar in the evening.  I was worried, though, about a new little pain between the Achilles tendon and the calf muscle, and decided against testing the twinge and maybe aggravating something.  Maybe I was being over-protective, but at this point, I felt that the importance of giving my body as much opportunity to heal and recover was more important than whatever benefit the easy mileage would have provided.  I look forward to these runs, so it was hard to take a pass.  But I would hate it to start having to stress about a tendon or muscle issue now, after all these weeks.

It hardly seemed like a "phantom pain."  I think I may have stressed it on my run last Friday, and yesterday's tempo run may have aggravated it a little.  I don't remember specifically any point when I would have tweaked it.  I just kind of noticed some minor discomfort at the start of yesterday's run, which went away after I'd gotten warmed up.  I didn't feel it again until this morning, and it was most noticeable after sitting at my office desk for awhile when I would get up to walk around. 

I've been stretching the calves and massaging the area all day, and it feels pretty good.  Tomorrow, I plan to just do what I was going to do today: 5 miles or so easy-paced.  Only I'll run with the RBHS Spark group rather than solo around Lake Miramar.  Friday's set for a little short "straights-and-curves" 30-minutes on Maranatha's track, and then Saturday morning, the last run of over 9 miles when I hit the Lusardi Creek loop, being careful not to turn an ankle.

I've got several things at work coming due, which is likely to cause me a little anxiety.  Not everything can be perfect, so I'll just have to deal.  Our PMR is on Tuesday and then there's the JLWG to get ready for the week after the marathon.  I'd love to be able to block off some time either side of the marathon weekend and put work on the back burner, but unfortunately that's just not possible.  Can't complain. 

(I've been mentally running the marathon, reviewing the route and planning my pace strategy.  I think anticipation is half the fun.)