I got to spend the weekend in Perry with Matt for my birthday… I also got the opportunity to run with a running friend of mine in which I think so much of this morning. She has already qualified for the Boston Marathon and she went about doing it with such determination. Being able to run with someone such as this inspires me so much.
We ran, talked and brainstormed the whole run. She has experienced injuries throughout her training like I have and she always remained determined and focused on her goal to get to Boston. She gave me several different pointers to help me with my training & also running with this bummed leg I have. Hearing her talk helped me visualize making it through my training season better. To educate you on my injury I pulled my solieus muscle in February of this year, and I was 15 weeks into my marathon training for The Snickers Marathon on March 6th. My left leg has always been an issue with me because I am so much weaker on that side due to the brain injury I had from my car accident. I have worked very hard over the years to strengthen this leg but when I get tired it does drag more than the right leg, and I have to be extremely careful with the shoes I wear when I run. I have had a stress fracture in this leg before and then to have this muscle pulled its been such a pain. I would take a break anyday over this muscle pull! But my feelings on not being able to run that marathon in March has driven me more than ever to do this season smarter & better because to put so much hard work and effort into something for so long and then loose it all in one run is such a heartbreak. But needless to say, like everything else in my life I have learned to roll with the punches and move forward without loosing sight of my goals.
Our run went great, I began with a slight limp but Kristie said she noticed I was running lots stronger after the 1st few miles into it. As I run I always say things in my head to help push myself. I read in a book when I first began running that keeping your mind clear of anything negative, or saying positive words to yourself helps push you while you are running. I have always applied this principle to my training wheather it be weight training or running, in fact I do this in my everyday life! But I’d say around about mile 8 my positive words were being pushed over by some pain I was experiencing in my left leg…. I had planned on a 12 mile run but by 10 Kristie said since I had pain to stop. And when I did stop I felt great no pain, wasn’t exhausted and felt I could do the 2 more miles but I actually resisted and left. Which is very unusual for me….hahaha