I ran the Run 5 for life this Saturday. I was really nervous starting out. It felt weird and lonely to be in that group of people without a friend or partner. Underneath my sunglasses I was holding back tears. I was gripping onto my hands. When the gun went off I just like Forest Gump started running. The first bridge was the Acosta and even thought it was steep I made it over. I made sure not to get carried away with the momentum of the downside and after the bridge leveled out I was able to keep my stride. Them main street bridge was cake. The grating was a little wonky but the incline was nothing. The overpass to Riverside? Holy hell!!! I kept shuffling and pushing through and again controlled my speed on the way down. I made it to the Fuller Warren and on my way back to the finish line. I was drinking and gargling water at the proper stations. I was over 4 miles in and I felt great. The weather was perfect. My hip was not hurting at all. My side was not hurting at all. My Nike + announces that I have less than .5 a mile to go and I'm going over the incline that goes over the railroad track. Up, straight, up, straight, up straight. It was then when I started to feel a pain in my left knee. I must have made a noise because the guy behind me looked back at me. I made it to the top and now was the curvy downhill fun part. Last stretch to the finish line and i couldn't run. I tried. Every step or shuffle I took with my left knee it would give out underneath me. 4.79 miles. I stopped and I cried. I cried not because of the pain but because I had to stop. I was so close. I could hear the music. I could see the finish line and I couldn't run. Finishing the spiral was painful. I didn't think I could even walk the rest of the way. I held onto the rail and cried my way down. 30-40 people and each one felt like a knife in my heart. I had them. When I got down to the straight away I called Nate crying. I told him I didn't think I could finish. He told me he was there waiting for me and I could do it. Just walk it Sabrina. Be proud of yourself you did it. So with my pride as low as it could be and my knee burning underneath the knee cap I walked the rest of the 5 miles to the finish line. No strong finish for me but I finished with my husband standing at the end waiting for me. So I did it. I finished a 5 mile race by myself. I didn't run the whole thing but I finished and according to my husband that means I was successful on my goal.
How do I feel now? I looked up the location of the pain and have self diagnosed it was runner's knee. An article from Runners World said that it is irritated by hills and downward runs which would make sense since I went over 4 bridges for the first time. It recommends icing the knee for 2-3 hours. Using pain reliever. All I can use because of surgery is Tylenol and rest. It also recommends strengthening your thighs to help support your knee and gradually increasing your hill work out. The pain now is come and go. I felt fine during my newborn session yesterday but when we went to the beach the stairs hurt my knee. What I did like is after my 5 miles last week I felt like an old as sore woman this time I felt good.
Emotionally I feel a little bummed. I have a hard time being proud of myself if you haven't been able to tell. If I set a goal I want to do it. This will not be my last visit on that track. I will show myself that I can run that without stopping. I'm also nervous. Will my knee be okay for the Gate? I'm going to be a good girl and follow all the rules and not push it. And then there is the thought of what if this happens during the Gate? Thankfully there are less bridges during the Gate. The main street bridge and then the big dog during the last mile. I'll be okay. 4 more weeks until the Gate River Run. 4 more weeks until I can say I did it!
Oh, and today's weigh in. Yeah I gained weight. lol I knew it was going to happen though. When I weighed last week it was very low at 161 but on Tuesday and throughout the week I was weighing in around 165. I stay honest with my weight chart so I knew there was no weigh the 5 pounds would just disappear. It seems like 165 is where I should have been. Again how do I feel? lol I don't care! I'm a 165. I'm 8 months out from surgery and 5 pounds from my goal weight. I'm wearing a size 10 pant today. My temporary wedding ring is now too big for me. I didn't eat bad last week. I didn't do anything to gain weight. I'm A OK with weighing 165 and having a weight gain this week.
1 comment:
The hardest thing is set a goal for yourself and not reach it. But do not overlook the other success you've just had.
Back in December, when you first mentioned the Gate Run, you were run/walking 3 miles. Here, you just RAN over 4 miles!
You just did your first race all by yourself and it wasn't just a 5k but a 5 mile race.
How many bridges were during this race? Well in December you were worried about having to run two... here, you just ran more than that!
And you've set yourself a great personal record for the next time you run this course. You'll NEVER be able to stop running before the railroad tracks because you now know you've already DONE THIS.
Any future races, you'll be able to tell yourself you KNOW you can run 4 miles without stopping.
Running long distances is mental and you are giving yourself knowledge and ammunition for the next time when your brain tells you to stop.
Remember to give yourself credit for the mini-accomplishments too. You post a list of goals you want to do as you lost weight, what about doing one for your runs too.
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