Anyway, before I go into all of that, I first I owe you all an explanation on why I fell off the face of the earth after the Philly ½ marathon.
I mean, you HAVE noticed I never came back with a race report, right?
Yes?
Maybe so?
Not so much?
Fine. Well at least pretend that you cared that I was gone, OK? Humor me if you must.
So, long story not so short – I learned the lesson the hard way that you DO NOT, under any circumstances, EVER, let your physician play around with ANY medications you might be on, a month before a big race. I did exactly that, and in a nutshell, my body didn’t metabolize the drug properly causing me to have seizure-like episodes that conveniently hit me right smack in the middle of the freaking ½ marathon race!
Awesome, right?
I went down suddenly somewhere around mile 7 or 8 and the next thing I knew my highly anticipated race day turned into a mess of ambulances, medical tents, more ambulances, and the ultimate pleasure of spending the bulk of my race day in the emergency room of one of Philly’s finest hospitals.
Not exactly how I envisioned my race day.
Nope. Not even close.
There was no finish line crossed. No medal hung around my neck. No victory party with my teammates afterward.
Instead there were a lot of scary concerns (at one point the medics were asking questions to rule out a stroke!), some IV fluids, multiple medical tests, a slightly panicked husband, and lots of blood work.
Most of all, it ended as a day filled with embarrassment and disappointment.
I was embarrassed that for some unknown reason, I had failed. I had failed miserably in front of my teammates, coaches, family, and friends there cheering me on at the race that day. I had failed all of my supporters who had been along for the ride with me in one form or another since day one of training.
I was disappointed that I had trained SO hard for months, and knew I was SO physically and mentally ready for that race, and yet for some unknown reason, my body had failed me.
And the worst part was that no one could tell me why.
After some additional research and a lot more testing by my primary care doc, it was determined the medication change was the cause of the entire issue. At that point, I was forced to take some time off from running to get all of the “evil” medication out of my system. When I came back to running a month later, I was more determined than ever to run again – a little too determined for my own good.
I quickly broke one of the cardinal rules of running and pushed too far, too fast, too soon, and I landed myself in physical therapy for 7 weeks with some pretty nasty shin injuries.
More awesomeness, no?
You would think that at this point I’d just come to realize that perhaps running isn’t meant to be my “thing.” Maybe these are all pretty strong signs that I should just hang up my running shoes and take up something less strenuous – knitting, perhaps? Shuffleboard?
Yeah, that would make sense to most people. But nope, not me. Anyone who knows me well knows I’m way too stubborn for that line of thinking.
Instead I decided I’d show my body who was boss around here. If my body wasn’t going to cooperate like it should have for the ½ marathon, well, now it was going to pay the price. I would show my body who would be making the running rules around here.
Screw me on the ½ marathon, body? Fine! Now you will suffer the consequences by training for, and running in a FULL marathon. Take THAT (and please, please don’t kill me along the way, OK body? Thanks in advance…)!
So that’s right – I’m BAAAAAAAAAAACK! And I’m officially signed up with Team in Training once again. This time I will be running the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego FULL Marathon this coming Spring.
Sure, I’ll still be the slowest person in my Team in Training group again, and sure I’ll question what in the world I signed up for on a regular basis as I tackle these crazy long miles when “official” training starts later this month.
But there are a few things I’m quite certain of as I find myself in pre-training mode.
I most certainly WILL fight through each and every scheduled run. I most certainly WILL complete the entire marathon training, and I most certainly WON’T let anyone mess with any medications this time.
And you know the one thing I’m most certain about of all?
I am absolutely, positively, without a doubt in my mind, certain that I WILL cross that elusive finish line in San Diego after running a full 26.2 miles.
And I will have the biggest freaking smile on my face when I do (and I would appreciate if someone would hand me a celebratory adult beverage when I cross…and perhaps an oxygen tank… and maybe some anti-inflammatory medications for the pain…).
Ooh, and with any luck, all the upcoming running will work off the 8 tons of chocolate I ate while feeling sorry for myself and being sidelined by injury the last couple months. Because that would be a pretty sweet bonus
So with all that off my chest now, I ask you to please, feel free to follow along as I embark on my full marathon journey. I’m quite sure it won’t be pretty – but hey, you know it will all be shared, for better and for worse.
Keep on running,
