Focusing on form has been my focus (see the optimism coming out?). I've had a high hamstring issue for a long, long, long time until I started doing a few trail runs where form become a different kind of necessity.
A Sunday Miracle, I thought.
Working out muscles A to B was taking a toll. Trail runs work muscles A to Z. The Sunday Miracle was truly that I didn't get hurt, and my hamstring felt better. I was on the mend. (I'm thinking "Sunday Miracle" needs to be capitalized because it's a big deal, so I'm going with it).
Being a novice trail runner (held my own though - only fell once) I trashed my "street" running shoes in the mud. Feeling great = Let's buy new running shoes!
There are many, many runners that alternate shoes and are fine with it. Not me. The minute I change it up, there's an issue. Even if I buy a new pair of the SAME PAIR I've been running in. Damn those shoemakers.
You know where this is going. New shoes = new issues. Now, to the point I can't land on my right leg without terrible quad pain. I'm literally (really, figuratively) running with a flat tire.
Reading this, you can commend me for my calmness and composure, but honestly, last night's run was a train wreck that brought me to tears in the middle of the road. I'm a grown woman and I didn't care. I'm sure a neighbor from two neighborhoods over, saw me, but the bottom line is A GIRL'S GOTTA RUN! Every neighbor, worldwide, has got to understand that.
I had big plans for this blog and blogging about training for (not to mention RUNNING) the Chicago Marathon. It's halfway through training. My longest run was 14 miles last weekend, I couldn't bare the pain to run 2 more to make 16. I haven't been able to do much speed work simply because my leg can't move with ease and I don't want to make things worse.
So, I thought I would post a smiley picture — prior to buying those new shoes or whatever it was that threw me off — to remind myself I can get through this.
Going into training, I thought, ok this will be my last marathon. This year's Chicago Marathon may not be "the one", but I'm not giving up.
