Reality Bites

I have a list of peppy, fun blog posts I've been wanting to do but keep putting off for one reason or another.  I was going to do one of them today, but instead it looks like I've been fed a large serving of reality for lunch.  So that's what I'm going to dish up here as well!

I've only run twice since my 18 miler (during which I hurt my knee around mile 8 or 9 and walked from mile 13 on).  The first time was last Friday and really doesn't even count, as I honestly went 0.1 miles (less than 60 seconds).  Although my knee doesn't hurt at all when I walk or do normal activity, the second I started to run it killed.  So I stopped immediately and decided to give it more time.  This week I wanted to try for 1 measly 3 mile run.  Endurance-wise I felt awesome, which was such a relief!  But 1.5 miles into the run, my knee was burning and tightening up.  After texting with Sarah (yes, we do this while running :) to see if I should stop or continue, she encouraged me to push through to 2 miles and then reevaluate.  I'm so glad I did, as by then it had started to loosen up a bit and was feeling a little bit better (though definitely not normal).  By mile 3 it was super tight again, but I finished it and was really glad I did, as it showed me that I didn't die (and come Marathon day, that's what really matters, right? :).

I stretched, foam-rolled and iced that night, and the next morning (yesterday) it was definitely sore.  Today it feels better again, where I can't even tell I'm injured just by walking around and doing my normal day-to-day stuff.  I've been really wanting to still do my 22 miler this weekend, thinking after 2 weeks off (with the exception of that one 3 mile run) I should be good to go.  Right?!?

This morning I had a playdate with a friend of mine who ran the Portland Marathon 5 years ago.  She told me that she, too, injured her knee during her 18 mile training run and ended up having to walk the entire marathon.  She said she felt totally normal when she walked, and that she tried to run a few times after her 18 miler, but every time she did it ended up feeling worse than before.  It all sounded a bit too familiar to me.  And snapped me right back to reality.  There's a chance that I might not be able to run the race.  And it's an absolute certainty that I won't be running my 22 miler this weekend.

Based on my oh-so-scientific Google searches, I'm going back and forth between "Runner's Knee" and an IT band injury as the culprit.  Either way, recovery time (if treated early on) is between 3-6 weeks.  I injured it 5 weeks prior to race day.  So even if I didn't run another mile between now and October 9th, I still might not be fully healed.

Time to take it one day at a time and trust in the Lord to pull me through.  During today's pep talk with Sarah (or I should say my early afternoon pep talk, since I've been needing so many lately) she reminded me of 2 things: 1) Although freakishly similar at this point, my friend's story is not my story, and 2) We know God has a plan for this training and race and that He wants to use it for His glory. 

Reality might bite, but thankfully, I believe in modern day miracles. :)
-Christie