A Race a Month // July

Injured


Yep, injured. No race. Actually, no running in general. Earlier this month I started having knee pains in my left knee and it got so bad I couldn't even walk. A few x-rays later and I found out I had runner's knee in both and an inflamed IT band on my left.

I was told to rest, ice and do physical therapy exercises. All of which are extremely boring and disheartening. A month with no running hasn't been easy. I've been in weird moods, my skin started breaking out and I'm crabby. But I know this is what I needed to do, to heal, to listen to my body and the doctor.

But on the last day in July I just had to try. Try to run just 1 mile. No, it wasn't a sanctioned race. I didn't pay an entry fee or get a bib number. It was just me and a treadmill in Gold's gym. My goal was to make it a mile. Something that a few months ago was just a warm up and now it felt like the impossible.

I started running and it was all I could do not to smile. No pain for the moment. It was like there was no one else in the gym but me. I was determined to get to the end. The pain didn't creep in until I was almost finished. I ran an 8 minute mile, straight, no walking. Thank you IT band!

I honestly have no idea how Olympic athletes deal with injuries. I've felt like I've had to start over with my running, and I'm now 4 weeks behind on my marathon training. Complaining and making excuses won't get me anywhere. So one day and one mile at a time I'm hoping to get back to where I once was and then push further.