My first marathon: The aftermath

“Running is nothing more than a series of arguments between the part of your brain that wants to stop and the part that wants to keep going.”
-Unknown

It’s been over a month since I ran my first marathon in Chicago. There have been times when I wanted to write in this blog, but something always seemed to stop me. Even though I have more free time without this rigid training schedule, that time keeps getting taken up with all the stuff I couldn’t do when I was training. Cleaning my house, getting rid of some houses junk and getting back to one of my other passions – sewing.

But I’m still running, and after a much needed two-week break I was able to settle back into a more normal running schedule. My first run after the break felt really horrible. I think since it was only 4 miles, I was thinking I could go really fast without an issue. I died around mile 3. The last mile I began cursing myself for taking this break since I felt like all my fitness had disappeared. However, that weekend I decided to run a last minute 10K that happened to be right around the corner from my house. I ended up getting a PR. I couldn’t believe how easily my legs completed these miles in less than a 9-min pace. I went back to running at my club’s weekly 5K and have been amazed at how good I feel getting my time back down to around 26 minutes. And recently I decided that my new goal now is to get faster. I was not super happy about my marathon time and I think getting all my race times might help me with the next one – whenever that might be. There is nothing wrong with being an average runner – and I’m sure I will always stay one – but improving my times feels so good.

My retired marathon sneakers…they got me through many a mile

Last week I had an opportunity to get into the Boston Marathon. My running club gets bibs that can be distributed to members. It is done in fairest way possible – with a lottery. The more volunteer work you do for the club, the more times your name is put into the hat. I had spent the whole year analyzing how to get more points and even created a spreadsheet to keep track and maximize my chances. It’s kind of what I do. I ended up with the 2nd most points in the club,

A real sore spot

“Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you.”
-A wise fella

Well it didn’t take long for my whole spring to get de-railed. I’ve been having a really great running winter. My 5K time was slowly improving, I got a 10K PR and I was killing it at track (in my own way). Things were really looking good for me to have an awesome spring, so I signed up for the Providence Half Marathon and kicked up my training a notch.

After pushing myself through a tough hill workout at track, I noticed a slight pain along the outside of my left ankle. That ankle has always been a little off since I sprained it last August, so I thought nothing of it and ran a 5K the following day. It started to hurt a little more after the run, so I took a few days off. The following weekend I ran a 10K and there was no denying the pain after I finished the race. The next day I could barely walk. Being the incredible stubborn runner I am, I rested another week and a half and then ran my weekly 5K. I told myself this was a test to see if the pain increased while I ran or got better. It stayed the same which basically told me nothing about the injury. After I crossed the finish line, I was relieved the ankle didn’t feel too bad. That is, until I started walking. I could barely hobble over to get a cup of water, trying to ignore what I was feeling. The spot on my ankle was screaming and sore to the touch. Obviously my body was telling me something that I didn’t want to hear.

There are a few things you need when you have a running injury that sidelines you. You need:

So what’s the plan?

“A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.”
-Confucius

Well lucky for Confucius, I’ve had a long time to plan this marathon.  I knew I was in last fall, which gave me all the time in the world to not think about it.  When January rolled around, I knew I should take the time as a gift and figure out a plan for the year.  As a business person, I tend to think in quarters.

Well at least that MBA didn’t go to waste right?

I live in New England, so the first part of the year is cold and snowy.  I still run in this weather, but I wanted to focus this time on getting stronger to prevent injury and prepare myself for the training to come.  Getting my muscles in shape was something I really needed anyway since my strength & cross-training had fallen off a bit last year.  Starting the year off right now