Bold Moves

The last week before a marathon I become nervous about everything…every sniffle, people coughing around me, every ache or niggle. Last Sat I ran my last long run before the race and I was in St Louis, in unfamiliar territory. We were staying next to a mall and Hubby measured that one lap around the mall = 1.2 miles. My training plan called for 10-12 miles. Running 11 laps around the mall seemed unappealing but it was better than the treadmill. So early Saturday I set off. After the 3rd lap I was already bored to tears! So I exited the mall area and ran down the main road next to it, discovering a nice wide and flat sidewalk. This lasted 2 miles so by the time I got back to the mall I was on my 4th lap and mile 8. Next I discovered a residential road across from the mall so I started down that road. The sidewalk was narrow and uneven but there was no room on the road to run and too much traffic. At mile 9 disaster struck. I caught my toe on a raised portion of the sidewalk. I was running downhill so I had quite a bit of momentum. All I could think of was “save your knees!” So I stretched out like Superman, “flew” about 6 feet, and landed on my hands/arms, rolling to my right side as I made contact with the cement. This resulted in not messing up my knees but I did tear up my hands, right arm, and right thigh. Road rash, and it hurt….a lot! I could have turned back for the hotel but I thought of my West Point sister who is in Ranger School and I thought of my upcoming marathon race. Time to get real. So I kept running. It took a mile or so before my hands stopped hurting. I finished my run and logged 12.5 miles total.

Back at the hotel, Hubby had just gotten out of the shower post gym workout. Here’s how the conversation went:

Hubby: How was your run?
Me: Good. Except for the part where I wiped out. (showing him my wounds)
Hubby: How did you do that running around the mall??
Me: I ran down a residential road and tripped on a downhill section of uneven sidewalk.
Hubby: (stares) You were supposed to run laps around the mall. This wouldn’t have happened if you had ran around the mall. I hope you learned your lesson.
Me: I got bored. And yes…I learned that I can run through pain/injury and that means I am race ready!! (cheesy smile)
Hubby: (shakes head)

I am now 72 hours away from running my 5th marathon, the Prairie Fire Marathon in Wichita, KS. I plan to run by feel. No set goal this year. If I feel good, I’ll push to PR. If not, I’ll run hard and see what happens. The marathon is a Beast. You have to respect it. You cannot take it for granted. My #1 goal is to finish.

See you on the other side!
Never quit; finish strong!