Can't Keep Me Down

***Cross posted at CafeKel***

I've been training for the St. Jude Marathon and this past weekend I had a realization...I found a small crack in my plan for 'marathon domination' hehe

It's disheartening to wake up one day and realize my plan is flawed.

This past weekend I was supposed to run a 20mi long run - I get up and meet my running partner at o' dark thirty and away we go. It was a nice run, cool and not too humid, conversation flowed easily and the pace was comfortable. Nothing too out of the ordinary. 12 miles later(yes I shortened the run some), I get back to my car and realize me feet hurt, one more than the other. I don't think much about it - my feet are usually tired after a run. By the time I get home though (after a stop at the store for groceries) my left foot is really hurting, so I ask the hub about it.

Who better to ask than the man who is supposed to care so much about me (and the fact that he trained hard and has a degree in kinesiology doesn't hurt either) this man proceeds to tell me, something is hurt. GREAT - not what I wanted to hear, but I'm sure it's minor, nothing to worry about, we ice it and go on about the day. Monday comes and I head to practice, I run an easy 6 miles, my foot hurts still, but I manage thru the pain. Once again, I complain to the hub and as we ice it, he convinces me to visit the dr.

This is one of the joys of having a dr. at my disposal because all I have to do is call, make an appointment and I'm in. For minor issues, dr. appointments are a breeze - if its anything major...trust me, the government is going to run you thru the loops before they treat you outside their facility.

For me, I call, make an appointment, show up 24 hrs later, get x-rays and wait for the dr. to look at them. In all of 30 min the dr tells me that 'while he cannot see any problems NOW, that does not mean there are not stress problems waiting and I should stay off it for 3 weeks.'

HAHAHA

Are you serious? It's just a foot and if my x-ray says I'm good, then obviously I must be good, I think the dr. is crazy and decide I am going to play it by ear.

All this is fine except for that brief moment, while I was sitting there waiting for him to come tell me about the x-ray, I thought there might be something wrong that would get in the way of achieving this goal and I was sad. Just for a brief moment I saw what I wanted go up in smoke and it was hard to think I wouldn't see it come to fruition. I, however, was lucky enough that there was nothing major wrong, but not everyone is.

Life is just as random as an injury...one moment we are cruising along with our eye on the prize when something jumps out and derails us. It is easy for me to become so narrow sighted that I don't see anything else around...perhaps this was my wake up call to say "Hey - I'm still here, remember me? LIFE? Go for the goal, but don't forget, it can all change in the blink of an eye." For a brief moment, I was superhuman and nothing could stop me then just as quickly, I was a mere human who had limits.

I can't say I'm ready to be human yet...I still kind of like the sound of SuperKel...does anyone have that taken yet?

What battles do you fight when aspiring to be superhuman?

Getting back on track

Without jinxing it, I'm going to say I think my running funk is on it's way out the door. I won't say it is completely gone yet (I still think twice about going out for a run) but I am proud to announce that I did get all 3 runs in last week.

YIPPY!!

That's right - I ran on Tuesday (7mi) Thursday (8mi) and again on Sunday (12mi). I cannot however take full credit for these runs since the hub did push me out the door on 2 of the 3, AND technically I was supposed to be doing 20 on Sunday, but my running partner only needed 12 and I didn't feel like finishing up by myself, so instead I went grocery shopping on my way home.

I know, bad me...I do think this was probably a good thing since I did have to get up at 3:30am Sunday morning, so I could make it across town for a 4:30 run start (hehe..see I am hard core runner woman...hear me roar!!!) Problem was when I got home, I noticed my left foot was really hurting.

I thought it might just be because I had gone running and I was tired, but the more I walked on it, the more the bones in my foot actually hurt. So here I was, complaining to the hub about my poor foot discussing shoes when he decided I need to ice my foot. For the next hour I alternated my feet from ice to hot water and I must admit, he was right, it felt better. (It's just one of the things I love about him...other times it's utterly annoying when he's right about these things).

So, now I'm not sure what to think about this foot thing. My shoes are not that old (bought them in July) but after looking at them I am pretty sure these are built for sprinters and probably not so much longer distances. I'm thinking I will stop by Foot locker tonight on my way to my evening run and pick up a new pair of shoes to see how they work out. I am guessing it is about time for a new pair so they will time just right in the 'break in cycle' for my marathon rather than be on the 'worn out' end by the time I get there.

So, Happy Monday...I know I promised a Garmin review (it's still coming)...stay tuned to see if I get my new shoes or not...