Today, I ran a 40% marathon. Now, you may be asking, "Amma, didn't you set out to run a 1/2 marathon when you left the house this morning?"
Very observant. Yes, I did!
However, I am starting to learn a big lesson about trusting my body. Possibly bigger than the time-honored refrain from my gymnastics coach, "Bend your knees when you land!" These may turn out to be related, actually...
So I started out the race pretty fast. Far faster than I knew I was going, actually! And I had a few pretty great moments during the first half of the race. Downtown St. Petersburg is beautiful. I mean, I've known that, but getting to see it as the sun rose, running along the water, was the best reminder I could have gotten. Around mile 6, however, my knee started to hurt. Pretty normal for me- I wasn't wearing shorts, so I didn't Biofreeze during the race. Moreover, I have trouble with my knees sometimes. They're old lady knees, but generally not an issue.
Today, it was. As I kept running, I needed to stop a few times to walk. I NEVER do that. And finally, right before mile 11 (And I mean right before, I could see it!), I stopped to walk, and couldn't start running again. Tried, more than once, but couldn't.
So after a great race- getting to run with friends, seeing other friends in the race, the first race my parents were able to cheer me on- I ended up crossing the finish line in the golf cart of the St. Petersburg Police. Not the way I would have hoped to finish. I didn't even take a finisher medal- it didn't feel right.
So now I'm listed as "day-to-day", as they say. The medics at the finish line say it's either a contusion (less serious), or torn meniscus (as you might expect, more serious). I don't know yet what it all means for the rest of my race schedule. I should know more tomorrow if I can get in to my orthopedic doctor.
So what did I learn? When your body says yes, as R. Kelly said, nothing wrong with it.
But when it says no, listen to it.
More to follow as the situation develops!
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