Refreshed and Ready

It's been a while since I updated this blog because it's unfortunately been a while since I've been able to do any serious running. During the week after the Nike Women's Marathon, I was in such pain that I could barely walk without cringing. After a month of rest and stretching, the pain hadn't improved and I got an MRI of my right hip. It didn't show a stress fracture, thankfully, but I continued to rest and stretch. When it barely improved, I began working with a physical therapist to strengthen and stretch the hip. Apparently I have tendonitis.
It's been mentally tough to stay motivated and enthusiastic while being unable to train and having to watch races that I had signed up for months ago pass me by. But my hard work is starting to pay off and I'm finally able to walk a decent amount of mileage and include some running in the mix. I'm confident that the strengthening exercises I'm doing will make me a faster and stronger runner over the long run, and although I've been instructed that I should not plan to complete a full marathon this spring/summer, I am looking forward to training potentially for a half, even if that means I will be doing more walking than running.
The Summer Session for TNT is well under way and I'm team captain for some of the most incredible, inspiring, and inspired athletes I've ever met. It gives me a rush to wake up before the sun and hang out with them every Saturday morning. Who on earth looks forward to 6:30 am on Saturday mornings?!? Well, I'm now one of the few.
I can't believe that the last time I really ran for any decent amount of time was October 18. It's been about four months, so I really will be starting back at the beginning. I assume it will be a little frustrating for me not to be able to go out as fast as I was, and even more frustrating that my endurance is no longer where it was in the fall. But dealing with setbacks is part of training, and I certainly have no interest in giving up.
Nike really was a great event for me. Prior to it, my half marathon time had hovered around 3 hours and 40 minutes. (Okay, in my defense, it was my first race, was on mostly uneven trails, and I walked 99% of it -- and I stopped for 3 bathroom breaks and took a million pictures). But Nike was different. I ran/walked with Kelley Last (who is to blame for my getting into this crazy business in the first place). But because the starting area was so completely packed, we literally couldn't make it to the area where the people who ran a similar pace were waiting. So we started off with a much faster group of people, and for fear of being trampled, kept up with the faster pace for the first mile or so. It's basically the opposite of what you're supposed to do on a distance run -- we took off like horses out of the gate. But the beautiful San Francisco weather and scenery and the general energy around us sustained us, and we continued to make pretty good time throughout most of the course.
It's so much fun to run with someone you enjoy. You end up in a bit of a trance and miles literally fly by without your being completely conscious of it. Ultimately, Kelley wanted to PR and I really was at a slower pace, so we separated for the last few miles. I had my Garmin and my ipod and experienced a very different kind of a race for those last miles. I had to push myself and dig deep when I thought I couldn't keep going at mile 11. But as I turned into the park for the last stretch and "Welcome to the Jungle" suddenly came on my ipod, I got that extra burst of energy that I needed. I made it to the Ghiradelli stop, downed my quick sugar, listened to more Guns 'n Roses, saw the clock and realized that there was a very real possibility that I could break 3 hours if I didn't slow down and walk. So I dug deep and finished strong in 2:55:16, my new PR.
So, post-PR and hip injury where does this leave me? With the knowledge of what I'm capable of doing, with more respect for my body's limitations and signals, with more patience and good sense and more drive to ultimately exceed my expectations.
But I have to take it one step at a time.