Have you ever had a party, for one? Yah that's been me for a couple of weeks and you know the only parties where one is invited is not a celebration but a gathering of the pities and woes of the world.
Disappointment is a hard thing to handle when it comes unexpected. About 10 days ago, I ran my longest run before my taper. Things were going well, nice weather, feeling good until about mile 16 when my right knee started to really hurt. I took a walking break for a bit and when I tried then to run again, the pain was very intense. I continued to walk for a mile until just by coincidence my husband happened to drive by and gave his hobbling, discouraged wife a ride to her vehicle (I live in the country and was running in town).
Goodbye dreams of my marathon, hello IT Band. What a bummer. Even 10 days later, it still stinks. I have since tried running 2X and can only run a bit before needing to walk. 6 miles was my max so I am not even sure if I can run a half in a couple of weeks. I hate to push it too much and then be out for awhile just when the running season is starting around here. I feel like I am going nuts. To be going full tilt with training and then be reduced to walking. Really? I miss you dear stinky sweat. I didn't realize how good you and I were together.
But, I have tried to take a positive approach to this. I have been increasing my strength and muscle workout in terms of improving the strength and flexibility of my glutes, hip flexors and abductors. I hope an improvement in overall muscle balance will get me back on the road again sooner. So often it seems that pinpointing what causes these setbacks is so hard to do because it could be a combination of so many things. It does seem to me that I incur injuries quite often. I'm sure that this is a direct result of the stomach issues I have. Let me explain my rationale. I have been told that being prescribed a strong antibiotic many times in the past few years has disrupted the stomach and intestinal lining and has caused a bacterial imbalance. This imbalance has created a situation where the good bacteria and enzymes have a hard time doing their jobs and as such digestion is compromised. I can feel the effects of this in terms of poor digestion of certain foods, bloating and pain. I can see the effects by the change in my abdomen appearance. It looks like anything else that is inflamed- it looks swollen. I am a stomach gal and so this swollen, rounded, fluid filled abdomen drives me bonkers when it has been so flat in the past. This brings in a whole new game- the mental dialogue that suggests the F word- yes you know it FAT. Any woman can understand the consequences that come when we start seeing a part of ourselves that we don't like. So, back to my point; my inflammation levels have been high for some time and I just don't think our bodies can handle that much irritation before something gives. Makes sense in my head but my heart still weeps for the loss of the goal that I have been training for and striving for since January.
So, decisions will need to be made in the next week or so. Until then, I am icing my leg, foam rolling and stretching and I will continue to bike and run lightly. All this with my legs and fingers crossed that improvements will be made and all planned events will not be gone.
Now a quick update on my non-training life. My son has been accepted to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in the college of agriculture. I am helping with graduation plans and he received his grad pictures the other day. I am being forced to accept that somehow he is 18 now.
My girls and I traveled last weekend to Edmonton, Alberta for a wedding and had some great girl time. We got some visiting in with family we don't see often as well as seeing some of the sights of the city. Well, if you count the malls as city sights. Edmonton boasts a mall called West Edmonton Mall which is the Canadian version of Mall of America. The mall houses a huge aquatic park, theme hotel, adventure center and skating rink as well as many retail stores.
My husband and I have been doing some home renovations. We ripped the carpet out of our office and replaced it with hardwood. The project went quite quickly and I think looks great. We just need to get everything moved back into it.
Now that it is nice outside, the renovations are going to start outside. More info and pictures about this next project to follow.
Wishing you all a great week.
Think of me when you go for your run tomorrow. As much as you might not want to get out there and run, remember that somewhere there is always someone who would gladly take your place.
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