I’m suffering an injured thigh - most likely a quad strain, from previous experience and research on the net. I’ve been resting it all week, do the RICE, massage, and heat therapy. My marathon is in 3 weeks, and I will do it, because 1) the pain goes away after the first few miles and 2) the $$ invested already for airline tickets is non-refundable. The question I have for you all this: What is the minimum taper training I can do at this point, with 22 days left? I was scheduled to do a 20-mile this Saturday, but my 18-miler two weeks ago went really well, and I’ve trained before with 18 as my max. So I don’t mind missing the 20-miler, although I was going to verify that my water-gel-Electrolyte capsules worked for me without major stomach problems. Do I to continue short slow runs while it still is bothering me? or wait another week and see how it feels? What is likely to happen if I do no runs for 2 more weeks (for a total of 3 weeks off) and then a week of short training runs just before the marathon? Thanks for any advice/opinion you offer - I respect all of you fellow marathoners/ultrarunners, and know that you all will understand this dilemma facing me.

I don't really have any other trainings, except walking and core excercies I do regularly. I don't belong to a gym at the moment; perhaps I could get a resistance trainer thingy for my bike. The leg is still hurting, but far less. I hope to walk 1 or 2 this week, at least.