Whenever I’m asked where I hail from, I stumble a little bit. After living in one foreign country and 10 U.S. states, including a few on multiple occasions, I can reasonably answer all over the place.
But if I had to pick one place I’m actually from, even though I only lived there for three brief years, it would be Washington State. This is where my parents still live, I graduated high school there, and I’ve consistently traveled to Washington since the late ‘9os. But the bulk of my time has been east of the Cascades.
In the past week I went to Tacoma, and I was blown away by Mount Rainier. I was taken aback by its iconic beauty (it’s on Washington’s license plate) and the way it glows as the sun sets behind you. Surprisingly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it from the ground, probably due to Seattle-Tacoma’s notorious weather. With Tacoma’s hilly terrain and incredible scenery, things I sorely lack in eastern New Mexico, I would normally run and explore as much as possible. But i’m not running. It’s really depressing to admit that I didn’t run at all during my trip and it wasn’t because I didn’t have time.
In the past month, I’ve been dealing with peculiar pain in my lower tibia (inside of my right shin) which has limited my ability to run. Limited = not running. In mid-February I started training for a marathon which would have been later this month, but training for a sub-3 hour marathon in less than three months may have been too ambitious. One night after an eight mile tempo run, I noticed a new discomfort in my shin. Applying some RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and taking some days off, I pressed with my training. Unfortunately within a couple weeks I couldn’t even jog.
As it stands, I still don’t have a diagnosis for this pain. An MRI showed that my leg was normal with no stress fracture and no shin splint which is good, but I still don’t know what’s wrong. So I’ve reluctantly decided to stop running and heal properly. This means I can’t race a marathon this spring, and I probably won’t be able to race any distance for a while.
The following are three big things I’ve learned…
First, I think I’m injured because I ramped up training too intensely in too short of a time frame. Marathon training is a different animal. 26.2 miles is an extremely tough distance and requires a complicated balance of quality miles, easy miles, rest, good nutrition, speed work, strength training, and life. At my fitness level and my job, I probably need 12-16 weeks to properly train for the marathon I want to run.
On a different note, two weeks ago I won the lottery! Specifically, I won the Marine Corps Marathon lottery and made it in among thousands of applicants. Assuming I can run pain free by June or July, then I’ll conveniently have 12-16 weeks to train. Washington DC happens to be the place where I trained for my first marathon in 2007, so returning to compete has meaning for me.
Having a focus and something to chase after, being in a place for feasible redemption and a return to the running scene…these are the goals which inspire me.
Followed your #RunChat shameless plug! 😉
I’ve come back from injury and you are right, I’m never taking running for granted. Here’s to a quick — and permanent — recovery for you, too!
Thank you! I believe the challenges we overcome as athletes make the overall experience so much more rewarding.
Are you still residing in the high plains?
Yes, I’ve been here a few years so far.
So sorry that you’re injured but it sounds like you’re doing what you’re supposed to so you can heal. And congrats on MC! My running mentor races it last year and now it’s on my short list for whenever I can do destination races. (Did I mention we have to put three kids through college? They’re cramping my style!)