I have a friend who's training for a marathon, his first, that just happens to also be on November 2nd, just further south than NYC, and it's been fun to check in on one another's progress and provide cheering and encouragement along the way. I've even swiped some pretty awesome tunes from his running playlist for training. Last week he reported a less-than-awesome 15-miler, with a sore knee to blame. I told him to ice it up, that not every run would be perfect, and that we learn something from every run. Even the bad ones. Wisdom gained directly from my coach, and advice I'm having to take this week following my setback.
Unlike last week, I ironically felt really good about my last long training run before NYC. Something was off yesterday morning, though. I wasn't as confident as I'd been the night before. I chalked it up to nerves, especially since the weather was cold and rainy. I actually cried a tiny bit just before I headed out. If those feelings were signs, I wish I'd recognized them and just stayed home, but I really just thought it was pure emotion, so off I went down Route 12. After the first couple of miles I was noticing some discomfort in my left ankle and foot, but it takes me a good three miles to really warm up, so I kept going, hoping that it would go away as I warmed up. It didn't. I trudged through puddles, paying close attention to how I was feeling, and once I got to mile six, I knew I wasn't going to push it any further. I cannot tell you how difficult that decision was for me to make. I came so close to actually calling my coach to ask him what to do, but I erred on the side of being a big girl and decided on my own that he'd want me to be conservative so close to race day. Instead, I called my husband for a pick-up, and he came to get me, complete with a warm blanket for the ride back home.
In all honesty, it was a rough day, filled with worry and disappointment, which is really rare for me, a typical Little Miss Sunshine. Did I do the right thing? Is this going to prevent me from running NYC? OMG, three weeks out from Boston is when I got hurt!
Eventually I thought about the advice I'd given my friend after his less-than-awesome run, and I decided to focus on the positive, the helpful take-aways from this run:
- I was supposed to get some new kicks Friday, the ones I'm going to break in for NYC, but I didn't make it to the store, so they didn't get yucky in the rain.
- My energy levels were spot on, and I truly feel like I know what I need for fuel and water for NYC.
- I'm learning to listen to my body and know when it's telling me to scale back or stop.
- If it had been race day, I know I could have finished.
- This isn't as bad as my IT Band before Boston, and Coach got me through that one. When he says keep the faith, I know I can count on him to get me through whatever hurdle is before me.
This was just one run. Onward and upward!
No comments:
Post a Comment