So I was really hoping not to have to share bad news but I decided this morning not to run the marathon on Saturday. A little over a week ago, on Tuesday morning, I did a normal 6 miles with a sprint at the end. Later in the day I noticed a twinge of pain in my right hamstring sort of above the knee. I figured it would just work itself out. The pain remained through to Friday morning when I decide I needed to at least attempt a run again. I lasted 2 minutes. The pain wasn't bad but it was lingering so I stopped. Frustrated, I made the stupid decision to try running on it again Saturday morning, because I didn't want nearly two weeks to pass without any running leading up to the marathon. The pain was still there but I pushed through because I felt as though stopping was laziness. I finished 5 miles before giving up and walking the rest of the way home. Within an hour or so of finishing I could barely put weight on my right leg. I had a what-was-to-be expected meltdown, with tears and all, before coming to terms with the fact that the marathon might not happen. There has been improvement in the leg since then but when I got out of bed this morning I could still feel mild pain in the same spot so instead of dragging out the decision, I've decided to just call it quits. The last thing I want to do is put myself on crutches before our upcoming vacations. I keep reminding myself that getting through most of my training plan and finishing two 19 and one 21.6 mile training run is pretty impressive in itself. I likely won't try for another marathon until after we have kids but I'm okay with that. It will give me something to look forward to when it's time to take them to Disney World.
It's been a tough week but I'm in good spirits. I have a lot to look forward to. A special thanks to Jake and my family for their continued support as well as my friends who were planning to make signs and come out early on Saturday to cheer me on. You guys are the best and I can't thank you enough.
I'm hanging up my running shoes for a while. April is being deemed a month of walking since we'll be doing a ton of it on our travels and then in May I plan to re-evaluate my fitness routine and am thinking of joining the gym across the street from work so I can get into some pilates and other exercise that maybe won't bulk up my legs so much. I'm looking forward to trying something new.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
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3 comments:
I'm SOOOO sorry that you're not going to be able to run your race this weekend!! I can't get over how maturely you're handling the situation. Okay, this is weird but I'm actually tearing up right now thinking about all the training runs I've read about over the past few months on your blog and the fact that you're not going to be able to complete the race. I'm SO sorry, but you are so right that just completing your training is incredibly impressive and there will be plenty of time for you to complete another marathon in the future.
To me, you're a marathoner even if you didn't get to run the race. I'm excited to read about your cross-training adventures and your travels in the coming months. You're so awesome, Karen!!
You are so sweet Michelle, thanks for your kind words. You made me smile and for that I am eternally grateful!
:-( I'm sorry Karen! I agree with Michelle. You showed amazing dedication and strength to get through all those training runs! Looking out for your body and not hurting yourself is a wise decision; though I know, not fun at all.
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