Its been 3 weeks go that I ran the Council Bluffs Half marathon. It has taken me 3 weeks to come back here and update this blog.. 3 weeks to really want to run again.. 3 weeks to realize that leg straps wont work and that I need professional help for my injuries.. 3 weeks to sort of find my mojo again.
This is the email I sent out the day after the run, which sums it up pretty well..
**
Well, I actually completed a Half Marathon!
It was ugly and painful but also a lot of fun! My knees did not hold up and my right leg had shooting pains and numbness at about mile 8. I was able to run to about 6 miles but then had to shuffle from that point on. My time was terrible (I was passed by a speed walker at one point! Lol) but I finished it!
Although, at the finish line (in my delusional state) I yelled out “I am never running again!”
I was checked out by a Doctor after finishing due to not being able to walk and he said there is no damage to my knees but it will take a while to recover. He said the heat and humidity had a lot to do with my leg issues and caused the cramping. Apparently about 200 people combined from the 5k and HM did not finish because of the temps and humidity! Your body changes 20 degrees when you are running so with it being 78 degrees at the start we were operating at about 98 degrees with a ton of humidity. By the time I finished it was 85 degrees and I felt every bit of it.. especially since I have never trained in temps over about 55 or 60 degrees.
Race results:
I was 604th of 734 people total
68th of 69 in my age group
329th of 407 females
I am a bit disappointed that I didn’t do better but for my circumstances I did as best as I could. There is always next time ;)
**
I am surprised what a toll it took on my body and my mind and how my finishing line yell of "I am never running again" wasn't too far off. I struggled the past few weeks with knowing that I should be out there running to keep up my cardio and just flat out not wanting to run all. I have run 3 or 4 times with short runs of 2 to 3 miles but my body still hurt and my mind was not in it.
This past Saturday I started Physical Therapy hoping that will help. Saturday after PT I felt fantastic and that lasted most of today until I went to Flyball class. I know it will take bit to be fixed but I am hopeful since I did see a difference after the first time.
There is a 5k in two weeks that I would really like to run so I am going to get back into it tomorrow. Hopefully having a race to look forward to will help get the mojo back!
The CB Half Marathon was brutal. Though flat, it was hot and there weren't adequate water stations. You did fine.
ReplyDeleteAfter running sub-2 hr half marathons for the better part of the year, I came in at over 2 1/2 hours at CB. Ouch.
Hope you work through your issues in PT. 5K's are perfect for the hotter months. Cool fall half marathons are sooooo much more pleasant than that hot muggy morning in CB.
Best of luck.