Today both happy and sad. I am happy I tried the SG marathon in spite of being hurt. If you would have asked me a month ago when i got injured if I could run 13 miles, I wouldn't have believed you. But I do wish I would have listened to my body and took more time off, I feel like even though I did run 13 miles (yeah!), I set myself back a couple weeks.
4 am woke up. I still was having doubts about running the marathon. I did 20 min of yoga, got ready, ate oatmeal mixed with some protein powder. Went to the park to catch the bus. I ran into many people there who thought I was crazy for even trying the race today. This gave me even more doubt. I was ready to walk back to the car. My husband told me to just give it a shot and there is no shame in quitting. Lots of people do it. I did want to so be apart of the action! (between babies and injuries, I haven't done the SGM in5 yrs)....so I got on the bus like a zombie, still not knowing if I should run. Got off the bus. I was suppose to meet Cheri and the aid station, but our bus was late and the race shortly started. I actually ran with my clothes bag etc for the first mile, I didn't have time to walk over to the clothes drop off before the race. I started out slowly. about 10 min mile pace, just to feel out my foot/ankle and see how it was holding up. At mile 2 I found Cheri and Natalie Christensen and started running with them (they two also have injuries and are in it just to finish....like me!) Ran around a 830 pace. I felt like I could go much faster, but really did not want to push it. I felt like I was rolling the dice on this race! I caught myself running in the 7min range a few times and realized I lost Cheri and Nat. I stopped to tie my shoe once and wait for them. But realized I had lost them. So I just started running and paying attention to my body. I ran up Veyo hill and couldn't believe how well my foot/ankle felt. I was so very happy. I felt the "runner's high" setting it! I was just happy to be running....period. Mile 12 I started to feel a little weakness in my ankle. Normally if I felt this while running, I would have blew it off like no big deal, but I don't know if I was extra in tune or paranoid, but I started to walk. I walked prob 400m then started to run again. It was gone! yeah!!!! Wrong, I then stepped down and it hurt more. It wasn't a sharp pain like I first experience when I originally hurt my foot, but a dull ache. So I walked more, prob a half mile. Saw the bathrooms and decided to take a little break. After, as soon as i came out, I saw Cheri and Nat! Ran and chatted with them for a sec. My ankle still bothered me and I tried to ignore it, but it was still there. I then realized I needed to follow my doctors advice and listen to my body and.......this would be a good time to stop. I didn't want it to progress to my full blown injury again. I said farewell to Cheri and Nat and told them I was going to catch the shuttle back. It must have been fate or more like divine intervention, but right after I said that I turned around and saw the shuttle van. I flagged them down and hopped in. There were a few others in the van, so I didn't feel to bad. They welcomed me on. We drove two more aid stations and someone over the intercom said there was another runner that needed on the shuttle. As I looked out to see who the runner was I saw Amber and my heart hurt for her. She was also injured and I felt so bad. I know the pains of realizing you have an injury, but to get one during a race is awful. It is so hard when your body won't do what your mind knows you can. After the slow ride back to town, I saw a few of my friends running and was so excited for them. Yeah to Court and Cathy who both PR'd! When we got back to the finish line, I hoped in my car and drove home. Picked up my kids and parents who were visiting and made our way back to the finish line to cheer for Ryan. He didn't train at all. Ever since the Ironman he has barely run. His goal was to finish under 6 hrs and he got 451. We had a laugh that his Ironman Marathon time wasn't much slower!!!! All in all, I learned a lesson today to listen to my body and heart. I am glad I am not back at ground zero with my injury and felt if I kept running I would have been. But I should have just been a spectator for one more yr, (running is my drug of choice, and I just can't stay away!)........there will always be another race!!!!
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