when it comes to running, i am officially cursed.
i started running to help my sister get in shape. i doubt anything else could have motivated to do something so tortuous. we started out obscenely slow, half running/half walking 2 miles every other day. by the beginning of june, i had struck out on my own and was running 3-3.6 (damn straight 0.6 and not 0.5 – i work for my 1/10th of a mile) every other day as a means of stress relief for boards. i was addicted. i never expected to love it so much, but you begin to realize there is a runner’s high.
by around mid-july, i self-diagnosed myself with a stress fracture, and given that i have worked in a pediatric sports medicine clinic for 3 years now, i feel pretty comfortable making these types of diagnoses. the only remedy is rest, and as one might expect, i fell off the running wagon (that doesn’t make any sense). before i managed the stress fracture, i was running 3.6 or 5 miles depending on my mood, and my 3.6 miles would take about 38 minutes.
fast forward to this summer… i was determined to start back up again, and the glorious thing about running is that once you have acquired the ability to run, it’s much easier to resume it regardless of the hiatus. i started back in may, and to precent the repeat stress fracture, i bought a pair of running shoes made for my feet. not literally made for my feet, but i apparently pronate (that explains the 5th metatarsal stress fracture i had last summer!), and these shoes apparently fix that. well after running in these shoes for 3 months, i am without a stress fracture, but a new joy has come into my life… one i haven’t known since my hey-day in high school basketball: shin splints. i even know the day. it was last friday, and i know this because i remember thinking, my calves hurt. this of course comes at a time when i’m running 4.1 miles consistently, and on that same friday, i set my new personal record of running 4.1 miles in 36:02 minutes, which means ~8:41 per mile. I was so proud and still am because i have smoked my times from a year ago.
well, despite the shin splints, i have persisted in my running (against my own better judgement), but i spend more time stretching my calves and icing them when i remember. i would normally be up to 6 miles this week, but i have decided to keep it at 4.1 for now to allow them to [hopefully] resolve without needing to rest. i need the stress relief right now from boards.
