Welp. I am injured. I’m not sure exactly how, except it’s running related. It’s very likely IT band syndrome, which I started to see many years ago but was able to head it off. The combo of my sprained ankle last year, and trying to restart training for the half this year, and honestly starting out too fast, and I’m in pain.
About 10 days ago, I noticed some pain in my knee when it was bent. I had just run 3 miles that day, but tried to keep up a more tempo pace. I chalked the pain up to training.
Last Sunday, I pushed through pain to complete 7 miles. I figured because I was walking instead of running, it wouldn’t further injure my knee. Tuesday I walked through pain for 3 miles with the dog. Thursday, I did another 3 miles with the dog. Still hurting, but tolerable.
A few hours later, I took 3 of my girls bowling, and bowled two games.
By 7 pm, I was in pain. Real pain. My knee stiffened and the ache extended to my ankle. By bedtime, I was miserable and there was only one position in the bed that wasn’t painful. I barely got 5 hours of sleep.
I can’t express how frustrating it is to know I’m supposed to run 13.1 miles in 12 weeks and I’m not even sure how well I can rehab this injury before then. I am okay with walking it if I have to, now I’m scared I won’t even be able to do that!
I ran 11 years without any real injury, and didn’t miss a single race. The last three years have been a train wreck. In 2022, I got food poisoning/24 hour bug by the end of an expo for a half marathon. The kicker was, I was supposed to run another half 6 hours drive away the next day. I ended up missing the first half marathon, we hopped in the car and I was still nauseous, which resolved by about 3 pm. We picked up our packets at 8 pm, slept, and hubby and I “ran” the half marathon. Hubby had run a marathon the day before, so it was a very slow one for both of us.
I’ve run a few races since then, though not as many as usual, but I sprained my ankle in 2024 and kept me out for the rest of the year. It was the first year since 2011 I hadn’t run a single half marathon. Now I’m worried it will be yet another year.
I often complain about running, but the truth is, I just suck at it. LOL Some days it’s hard to get out, but I LOVE being outside, seeing new places, feeling the ground beneath me.
Most of all, I love being strong. These legs have supported me over thousands of miles since I started running, and being injured just reminds me of how strong I am NOT now.
And realizing how much strength I’ve lost reminds me of how old I am. I don’t want to be an old person that isn’t capable of hiking and running and playing games.
I finally have a dog to run and hike with, I don’t want to slow down.
Pray for me that I can accept what God gives me.