It's About Time

Time to test the leg. Time to test myself. Time to see how long I can handle running on it. I had only 1 hr to spare. So maximum would be 6 miles. Could I do it? Would I decide to quit, because it hurt too much? Or would I decide to quit because somewhere along the way I have seem to have lost my running endurance? I can swim 2 miles but ask me to run and I quiver at the thought.

After my kids went off to school I still chose to run on the treadmill. Safety at home. The softness of the treadmill just seems to be a smarter choice right now. I had emailed my sister in law about an hour earlier to give some advice on how to run longer while making it seem easier. Time makes it feel easier. Time will give you the strength in your legs. Time spent running faster in short runs will make the slow long runs easier. Time will make your average pace increase in speed. I have put in my time over the past 5 years. So where did it all go? 6 miles just seems like a giant feat. One I was determined to overcome.

I'm glad to say the run went great. I kept a pace of 9:40 for the first 5 miles and for the last mile I ran it in 9 minutes. Giving me 2 1/2 minutes to spare of my hour limit. I had aches in my leg the entire way. With some sharp pain around 2.5-3 miles. Then it calmed down again. Kept telling myself that the doctor said it was OK to run through the pain. Too bad my physical therapist doesn't agree.

So who do you believe? The doctor you have seen for every sport injury I have had or the physical therapist who knows me by name when I walk through the door? Doctor says do what ever you want your shin bone is fine. As long as you can tolerate it. Really? I have a high pain threshold as most women do. I can tolerate a lot. PT says hold on.....at mile 2.5-3 the pain in your leg got worse right? More like a person stabbing a fork in your shin bone with each stride. She tells me that's when I need to stop. When the ache turns to pain. If I don't this injury will linger on and on and on. I want to believe the doctor. But I think I agree with the PT. Of course this doesn't mean that I won't run through the pain once in awhile. But maybe I will only run the longer runs once a week until this goes away. I'd say that's a good compromise. Let's make everyone happy shall we?

So it's time to heal. Time to ice. Time to get smart with my running. Time to have patience as this may take awhile.