Yes, THAT thing…the “I” word.

It has been a while, I do realize that.

I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet.

I’m still here, and I don’t have very good news to share.

You see that face? That is my “I’m supposed to run the Full Marathon but I’m INJURED and I can’t” face.

Yes, it happened – something that all runners go through at one point or another in their lives – injury.

I’ve been SO busy lately. Yes, that’s my own fault – but it’s also what attributed to my injury because I didn’t take the time to keep up my maintenance runs in December. I have no clue WHAT I was thinking, but with my friend’s wedding and our Disney World trip, I had too much going on to run. Again, I realize that’s my own fault.

I realized that something was wrong on Christmas Eve, the day after we returned from Disney. I have never had an ache or pain hurt for longer than a week, so I figured if I iced it, took ibuprofen, etc. it would go away. Well, that didn’t happen. The pain was STILL there on New Year’s Eve. I cried for 2 days straight (wasn’t in denial, just sad because I could feel the Marathon slipping through my fingers) then I called a local orthopedic massage therapist to see if he could help me.

He told me that my vastus lateralis muscle was irritated. This muscle connects to the IT band so he figured that the two had something to do with my knee pain. His massage really did help and I felt much better – I attempted to run on my knee two days later and at between mile 1 and 2, the pain was there again. I then called a few running group Physical Therapy friends of mine and they got me in right away. Let me tell you, they are AMAZING!

We decided that my problem is tendonitis in my knee and I probably wouldn’t be able to run the Full. They said I COULD, but it would be painful and I would hurt for a very long time and Rock and Roll New Orleans would be out of the question. So I took their advice and I dropped down to the half marathon. The PT and I made  a goal of a 3 hour time finish. She said if I finished the race with a time under 3 hours, then I’m a beast! Hah!

“They” say that Houston is a flat course. I’m sorry but when they start the gun and you begin an incline up an OVERPASS, that’s NOT a flat course. When MORE THAN ONE overpass is involved, that’s not a flat course. Now New Orleans on the other hand, THAT is a flat course. Ok rant over. :0)

Anyway, as you can tell, there were plenty of inclines in Houston which gave my knee a fit right from the start. I ran as much of the race as I could, and my finishing time:

2 hours and 51 minutes!

Which is crazy to me because  only a month ago, I ran a Swamp Stomp Half Marathon in my home town in 2 hours and 1 minute! Seriously crazy!

I finished the race, I cried because I was mad that I couldn’t run the Full, I got over it, then I put ice on my knee in the reunion area.

I’ll definitely have a full Houston recap coming up, but I wanted to tell you the reason why I disappeared for a while. I’m still seeing Physical Therapy 3 times a week and I’m hoping for a positive outcome for Rock and Roll New Orleans!

Since I didn’t get to run the Full, I was able to meet Josh Cox at the Nissan Booth after the race. (I missed Ryan Hall by just a few minutes, but I was glad to meet Josh Cox instead!)  Josh Cox is the American record holder for the Ultra Marathon. He record: 31 point something miles (50K)  in 2 hours and 43 minutes! Holy smokes! I’m so glad I got to meet him and he was VERY encouraging! Something he said that really stuck out was:

“You can’t fully enjoy the mountaintops without the hills or the valleys.”

He’s so right and I appreciate his perspective! He ran in the trials and battled a foot injury for 18 miles. He placed 14th in the Trials which is still pretty incredible!

So, that’s where I am. I finished the Half Marathon in Houston on a painful knee, and now I’m trying to rehabilitate it for New Orleans!

I’m getting better I’m getting better I’m getting better….repeat! :0)

Hope you all have a fabulous Friday! :0)