Location: Knoxville,TN,USA Gender: Unknown Goal Type: Unknown Running Accomplishments: I have been running for a few years now, but since September 2006, I've been constantly injured. After the Rock-N-Roll 1/2, I spent a few months in physical therapy working out the IT Bands. Instead of taking that time to get better, I trained for the St Judes Memphis 1/2 simultaneously. I did set a PR for myself, but kept running. I kept running through the end of the year and then took 2 weeks off and began training for the Country Music 1/2. This race was my worst performance yet and it was truly my own fault. I completely stopped listening to my body and ran through a lot of pain. I kept up with my long runs on the weekends, but stopped doing my short runs throughout the week because they hurt so much. I was really unprepared for this race and had an unreachable goal set for myself. Post-race, I was really upset with myself for failing and had a hard time celebrating my sister's accomplishment of running her first 1/2. Looking back, it was pretty much ridiculous to treat myself that way.
After this race I tried to start training for the Rock-N-Roll 1/2 in Virginia Beach. This race was supposed to be with my brother and 2 sisters, but instead I got sidelined because of a shin splint. The goal for the year was to complete 4 1/2 marathons and this was going to be the 4th. Instead of taking the time off, I kept running through it, once again and didn't run the race. Here we are in October, and I'm still dealing with an injury from June!!
So maybe the Country Music 1/2 was more of a wake-up call than a failure. Running through injury isn't going to make me race better or faster and I'm just going to have to learn to live with that. I've picked out my next race, with the intention of running it, finishing it, and staying strong!
Short-Term Running Goals: So heres the plan - I want to run Atlanta. I want to train right. I want to stay injury free. I want to finish strong. I want to focus on the miles and not the pace. I want to enjoy the run! Long-Term Running Goals: Cross your fingers - either a triathalon or Disney Marathon, 2009! |
