Well, that was short-lived....
I had an appointment with an orthopedist/physical therapist this morning. She spent two hours poking and prodding every square inch of my right leg below the knee and I spent two hours wincing and grimacing and trying not to cry like a little girl. Her diagnosis was that I have a high ankle sprain or a stress fracture, and probably a stress fracture because that's all she talked about for the last forty minutes. There's really no way to know for sure without an MRI (stress fractures often don't show up on x-rays) but really it's moot at this point. In either case, I'm not going to be able to run for at least four to six more weeks. So no Marine Corps Marathon.
I'm pretty bummed. Not only am I going to miss the Marine Corps, but I'll also have to give up on the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach that I was going to run with Daby and CarrieNation and Emma and a few other people. I joked a lot in the month leading up to the start of training about not following through, but this was something I really did want to do. What gets me the most is the timing of my injury. I was just starting to feel good about running again, and I was gaining confidence that I could actually run twenty-six point two miles every time I got out. That - if anything - is the silver lining. Signing up for the marathon was a means to an end: I wanted to start running again. As much as I love being out on the bike - and I think it's fairly obvious that's something I enjoy quite a bit - there's nothing quite like running. I remember now that I've missed it. It had been a long time, but I missed it.
So now I'm weighing my options. I can switch over to the next marathon season, which won't interfere with a cycle event. The Walt Disney World Marathon is the first week of January. The training will probably start in September, so - knock wood - I should be healthy. But that's an additional $2,000 of fundraising, which doesn't bother me per se, but will mean I'll probably have to alter my plans for next year. I want to do the Tahoe ride in the spring, and we're adding a ride in Solvang, California for the fall season. My second century was in Solvang, and I've been dying to get back there for four years. If I do a marathon in January, the fundraising - not to mention the constant training for over a year - will be a bit much. Plus - and this is no small thing - I'd really been looking forward to a local event and having the support of my friends along the way and at the finish. The Marine Corps Marathon will be there next year, but there's much to be said for following through before I lose too much momentum. I just don't know.
Man, what a depressing post this turned out to be. I sincerely apologize to both my readers. I didn't mean for it to turn out this way. I'll try to make it up to you starting now: Your taste in music is terrible! Pie is the best and brownies suck! I'm the best at Scrabble! Daby and Jodi are stupid! Hmmm, I think I might just feel a little better.
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