Hey All. I've been putting off this update for far too long, so today is the day. I know you've all been sitting on the edge of your seats wondering what's going on with me and my quest to be a distance runner, so here's the 4-1-1.
I got back to training - slowly - in late January, walking on a treadmill. Treadmills are awful any time, but walking on a treadmill is in the upper echelon of torture methods. I built my speed and distance slowly, and by early February I was walking 2 miles at a time, and starting to mix in 1 minute intervals of slow jogging...which is when things got ugly.
The aching in my left leg was back - not quite as intense, or as often, but it was definitely back. Mostly at night, keeping me awake, both because the pain was nagging, but also because of what the pain meant. I tried to ignore it for a couple of weeks, taking meds to control the ache, and avoiding the pounding of a full running workout...something that I knew I couldn't avoid much longer.
I received my formal training schedule from Team In Training, and really needed to start hitting the distances and frequency that they scheduled if I had any chance of making the Nike Women's Half Marathon in April. I was already supposed to be running 12-15 miles a week, and I was lucky to get 6-8 in at this point.
I had a pretty decent, almost pain free week, toward the middle of February, and decided that my weekend workouts would be the deciding factor. I'd run - at least a 1/2 mile interval - and go for at least 2 miles total, even if the rest was walking. If I could do it without pain, fantastic. I'd start adding distance and hope to catch up to my team's schedule. If not, it was time to hang up my running shoes.
It started off ok, but by the end of the workout, I was hurting...and continued to hurt through the weekend. It scared me a little. Being single, and living alone means that I don't have someone to help me, and little things suddenly became difficult. Walking up and down the stairs hurt, badly, and I have a lot of stairs in my house. I drive a standard transmission, and I found myself cringing every time I had to depress the clutch. I could still do it, but not comfortably, and that was scary.
So, I am now officially retired from running. Actually, at the moment, I'm still restricted from any and all high impact activities. That includes my Zumba classes, which I miss terribly!
Sadly, that means I don't get to participate in the 1/2 marathon at the end of April...or ever. That part of this whole ordeal has weighed heavily on me. I vacillate between feeling like a quitter, and being frustrated that I couldn't finish what I started. That's part of why it took me so long to write this update. I'm embarrassed that I couldn't do it - especially after so many people showed me such generous support.
That generosity is what I'm holding on to as evidence that my effort wasn't a complete failure. Because of your generous support, I was able to raise over $3000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I didn't meet my personal fitness goals, but I'm so grateful to have been the catalyst for those donations. I'm proud to be associated to such a fantastic organization, and can't begin to express how lucky I feel to have the support of such generous and amazing friends and family.
Thank you.
You can learn more about LLS, their mission and their successes here: http://www.lls.org/#/aboutlls/researchsuccesses/
So...that's my update. I'm out of the running game, and SO ready for the weather to improve so that I can get back on my bike. As bad as treadmills are, stationary bikes are 10 times worse! This low/no impact restriction is for the birds.
