During my high school years I was ALWAYS injurred. Whether is was sprained ankles, stiches, burisitis.... most of my memories of the cross country season are from the side lines. I distinctly remember my coaches words at our senior year awards, "Stacy has suffered from various injuries and ailments, but she has still been a valuable part of this team." It was my trademark in a very sad way.
The first few years of college I switched to "working out" more so than traditional running. Maybe my body just needed a break, because when I began to train for things again, I seemed to be "injury free". It is true that running is probably the worst physical activity for your body and I am remembering that again now.
As it looks now, I am going to be opting out of this race on Sunday. I have been having trouble with my foot (and my back, but that is more just achy than injury). I am pretty sure I have a stress fracture in my foot. At one point I thought it was a broken toe, but I think it is problem with my foot in general. For the past month, I haven't been able to make it past 6 miles without developing intense pain in my foot. It then lingers for the next few days. So I am thinking 1) I am not very well trained for this race and 2) Doesn't seem like a good idea to possibly aggravate this injury to the point where I couldn't run/walk for weeks as opposed to days.
I am kind of bummed about this, because it looked like a really fun race! There is also a part of me that feels relieved too. A lot of about this particular race, and the training for it, felt more like a hassle and something I "had" to do. That is not why I run, I run because I love to run and it is a source of stress relief as well. Also, I have to admit part of the thrill of the 1/2 marathon and the marathon I ran before was that I was facing a new challenge and seeing how far I could push myself. Perhaps I have crossed these extremely long runs off my mental check list? Probably not forever, but right now I am not sure I have he mental capacity needed for such intensity :)
Anyway, I may show up and see how much I can run. However, for me I also know that there would be a strong chance that I would not stop and push myself further than I should. I have a tendency to get a little obsessive when I start something- I don't like leaving things unfinished!
I have enjoyed all the motivational song suggestions! Please feel free to keep passing them on, they have made my more recent runs much more rejuvenating.
3 comments:
Call me crazy, but have you considered going to the doctor???
Eric told me about this post, and I don't know if you have seen your MD yet, but a referral to a good physical therapist with experience in sports medicine would be able to address the cause of the frequent repetitive stress injuries and your current symptoms. They can evaluate any underlying movement dysfunctions in the foot/ankle or other muscle imbalances. They may recommend certain shoes or orthotics based on what they find. A problem with the foot will eventually work up the chain, possibly the cause of the back pain. As a physical therapist and a runner, I know how discouraging an injury can be! I hope you feel better soon... keep us posted!
maybe you should consider an ULTRA marathon. you've tackled the others, now try something new! :)
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