Happy Sunday Everyone! So yesterday I went on my “test” run which was kind of a disaster, my foot was fine but my other leg decided to come down with a gnarly shin splint. I only did a mile and I was in some major pain afterwards.
When you look like that after a one mile run, you should probably really consider whether your up for running 13.1 the next day. I think it is probably obvious by now that I chose to skip it, one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make.
Reasons I Decided Against It
1. I have no idea what is wrong with my foot and when we were walking around the store yesterday it started hurting/pinching, even though it usually only hurts with my tennis shoes on.
2. Shin splints suck but worse if you push them to hard there is a risk of causing a stress fracture.
3. If I happen to further injure my foot or leg, I won’t have adequate insurance for 90 days (because I’m still in probation period of my new job) to get do anything about it or we can pay a lot out of pocket.
4. The more pressing reason, I’m getting married in 13 days and we are going to Hawaii, thats a once in a lifetime experience of hiking and adventure activities, there will be plenty of other races.
5. Lastly, and again I am getting married in 13 days, I’d prefer to be able to workout pretty hardcore in that time to relieve stress then have to rest.
What I Gained/Learned By Training
Given all those reasons, my dear Paul and some other friends reminded me of all the things I have gained simply by the journey of training….
1. I had a goal to focus on which allowed me to get in shape without constantly worrying about what I look liked. It kept me going, I would have missed a normal workout but I never missed a training run. Therefore, I met the goal of getting in shape for the wedding without freaking out about what I looked like.
2. I learned that shoes you pick and the way you tie them are probably more essential to your running than even your physical ability.
3. I had some achievements along the way, I ran my first 10K and last week I ran 12 miles (definitely a PDR for me).
4. I accepted my status as a runner, which was something I didn’t think I would do unless I actually completed the half marathon. However, today I feel like a runner more than any day of running, because there is nothing worse to a runner than being sidelined.
So this morning I got up and against Paul’s advisory I went on a run, I decided to do a 10K. Pre- workout snack was a 1/2 banana.
How did it feel? Well, my shins hurt but again no foot pain since I wore double socks and loosened my shoe laces.
1 mile- 9:53
2 mile- 9:20
3 mile- 9:49
4 mile- 10:10
5 mile- 10:14
6 mile- 9:53
Total 6.21 miles, 1:01:17 avg 9:51/mi
Afterwards I had a big old bowl of Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Scramble and it was delicious!
Well if nothing else thats an unofficial PR for me, 2 minutes faster than I ran at Maggie’s Place 10K. Do I stand by my decision or do I wish I would have gone for it this morning? I don’t think the risk of injury was as high as I thought it was, but its like Paul said when I finished “you don’t hurt yourself in the first half, it’s the second half we were worried about.” He is right, and when it comes down to it the risk wasn’t worth it. Am I a little sad today? You betcha, but I have a wedding and honeymoon to look forward too with the man of my dreams and that lifts my spirits. Thank you for all the support from my friends, family, and readers I really couldn’t have gotten this far without all of you.
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