I know it has been quite awhile since my last blog. A lot has been going on and my creativity has just not been flowing. This week though, I am back in gear!!
Most of you are aware that I have been dealing with a running injury. Turns out my pelvic bone and L5-S1 vertebrae are out of alignment. No biggie since doctors first thought I had a pelvic stress fracture which would mean I could not run the NYC marathon. Although I will need physical therapy up until race day, the important part is that I have been cleared to run NY!! Thank goodness as I would have hated to waste training hours I have logged!! Plus, it is the 40th year for the NYC marathon, so I know the event will be even more exciting than ever!
So my original goal was to finish this race in less than 5 hours. I know it is not record breaking; however I run because I love it, not because I am going to win. Then again, I guess we all win each time we cross a finish line or reach a goal. Anyway, that goal was set when I was still doing training runs. The truth is, I have only been allowed to run twice since my 21 miler on September 18; a one miler yesterday and a three miler today. I was told by my doctor that my injury is probably an overuse injury which means I need to run very conservatively on my training runs leading up to NY, and then give it all I have on race day. That I can definitely do. It may not be pretty on race day, but I can do it!!
One option I have had all along is to defer the race until next year. I have had a few friends ask about this as it would give me more time to train and maybe give me the opportunity to run injury free. We never know what next year may bring though, so I say do it now!! I do have an injury; however I am recovering and will be able to run on race day. Pain free? Probably not. But I have confirmed with my doctors that I am not going to do any serious damage to myself by going out there on November 1 for 26.2 miles. If there was a chance I could get hurt and never run again, absolutely I would defer this race.
I have 350+ training miles behind me that I have worked really hard for, and I want to cross that finish line and claim my medal that I will have earned. Above all though, I want to teach the Team Teen runners that life is not always easy. Every once in awhile life happens and things do not go as planned. We can either keep going to reach our goal, or quit. And quitting is just not an option.
Run on friends,
Karen
