My run tonight was absolutely horrifying. I can't even qualify it as a run.
I was scheduled to put in another 3 miles. I'm tired and my legs are fatigued, but nothing out of the oridanary as I lace up my shoes. I do my usual stretches and take off walking for a few minutes to warm up my legs. I start my Nike+ app and begin to run, planning to stick to my training interval of 17 minutes of running and 3 minutes of walking for this week. I take my first few strides and feel the usual soreness that generally accompanies the first few minutes of every run. Something felt different this time, however. Typically the soreness subsides around minute 5, although it never really goes away. Tonight, I had to stop and walk for a few minutes after only 6-1/2 minutes of running. Trying not to beat myself up about it, I started again into my run, thinking "I can still redeem myself and just reduce the amount of walking between intervals later on in the set". But alas, my legs had different plans for me.
After another 3 minutes of running, I had to stop and walk again. This pain is different than the typical "discomfort" that I feel with every run. Let's face it, running isn't easy! If it were, everyone would do it. But my legs have NEVER felt this bad before. I had a double threat combo going on with my right shin killing me and my left calf cramping up every few seconds. Not exactly pleasant. At this point, I was pretty discouraged and upset, but feeling like I could still redeem myself and finish, pain or not. When I took off running the third time, the pain was so bad that it stopped me in my tracks. This is when it hit me that I might injure myself and be out for a couple of weeks if I try to push through the pain. I listened to what my body was trying to tell me and walked the rest of the way home, which brought me to 1.5 miles total; at a pace of 15'52". Oh the horror!!!
What has happened to my body? I have always been able to push through the discomfort and talk myself into putting one foot in front of the other. Why is this run different? I think I made the right decision to stop; the last thing I want is an injury (or injuries) that could potentially take me out of training for several weeks. With less than 2 months to go before the half marathon, I really cannot afford to take that much time off. Knowing that I made the right decision doesn't make it any easier to swallow.
When I reached the house, I cried for 20 stinkin' minutes. My husband looked at me like I was crazy! It's just a run, what's the big deal? Apparently it's a very big deal to me. All I can do is rest tomorrow and try like hell to make my required 5 miles on Sunday. Here's hoping my legs recover and feel better by then.
Another day, another dawn...........
I got faith in you! You can do it!
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