Then, as I was looking over some past writing, I stumbled across my account of a training run when I was preparing for my first 10K…the very race that I will tackle for the second time in just a few weeks. Care to join me on a journey of growth? Every athlete…No...Scratch that. Every PERSON goes through change. Hurt. Wrong directions…
How we come out of it…that’s up to us.
Spring, 2011: My shin splints were really hurting. The big 10K is just three weeks away now. It’s been a few weeks since I first experienced the joys of shin splints and have now found that when I try to run on the concrete, my shins scream in pain afterwards. I’ve tried to taper back on my training to allow them to heal. I’ve purchased some new running shoes, cut down my miles, only run on the treadmill and, of course, have iced my legs every night.
I’ve stayed off running on the road for over a week and it’s time to give it a try again. My trainer-friend and another running buddy want to do a practice run of the race course. An “adventure run,” as I like to call them. I was a tad nervous because I was worried that my shins wouldn’t be up to the pounding. I was scared of the pain. Today would be the test…the concrete, bone-crushing, shin splints test.
One of these running friends is the go-to girl for research. She is the planner. She researches, compiles information, compares data and makes the most logical decision for her needs. Conservative, down-to-earth, and prepared. She must have a plan. Now, as some of you may know, this is basically the complete opposite of me! My planner-running buddy downloaded our course to her trusty iPhone. Those things are really quite amazing...not that I would really know. I am seriously cell-phone illiterate. I barely know how to use my own cell-phone. And it’s the old-fashioned flip phone. No touch-screen, no fancy key-pad. If I text, I have to hit all the number keys. Ugh. What a pain in the ass. I was at a friend’s house once and accidentally put my cell phone on speaker phone and then I couldn’t shut it off. In fact, if someone hands me their phone to use, I stare at them blankly like a foreigner trying to read a restaurant menu written in hieroglyphics.
So... iPhones. They are pretty much startrektechnogadetsofwonder to me. Anyhow, as I said, planner-runner-friend had downloaded the course map into her phone so we could run it in preparation for race day. We parked the car and headed out on our adventure run.
We started out the first mile strong. The second mile we encountered a pretty big downhill decline, which was fun, but harder on the feet as I had to brace each step and felt the full weight of my body being absorbed into my ankles. Then, we approach mile three. Hmmm…there appears to be an expressway ramp that loops around onto a divided highway. On race day, the streets will be closed off and everything will be mapped out. However, our little adventure run is during the middle of the afternoon with busy city traffic buzzing by us. Although we were sticking to sidewalks when possible, much of our run was on the grassy bank next to the road. We were in a quandary. Do we head down the ramp and try to run the course as it appears to be on our handy dandy iPhone map? Or, do we shortcut it and try to cut across the hilly grassy area to the next leg of the race? We opt for the safer cut-through and make it to the 3.1 middle of the race mark where our course map tells us to turn around and double back the way we came.
It must have rained, because there was quite a bit of muck around. Squishy, gushy mud and puddles christened my shiny-new running shoes, which weren’t so shiny any more as they were now covered in sludge. We opted to run up the circular expressway ramp on our way back as we thought it would lead us to the turnoff we were looking for.
We were wrong.
Chugging up the ramp led us to some sort of criss-cross highway and we didn’t know where to go next, although we knew the general direction to go. (Note: This was not safe. I don’t recommend running up an expressway ramp during the middle of the day.) At this point, my trainer-friend suggests we start walking for a bit, so as not to overdo it for me. We realize we have no idea where to go next so we decide to get back to one of the roads we ran in on, which meant another cross country trek up a super-steep highway embankment. We ran up it like we were on a trail run. It was soft grass with holes and mounds everywhere.
Suddenly, planner-friend screams.
“AhhKCCH!!!” she yelped. I was too busy watching my footing but shouted out, “You okay?!” She kind of gasped and started chuckling. As we reached the top, she explained, “I almost stepped on a groundhog! I was literally about to put my foot down and the brown little critter popped its head out just under my foot! I almost squished it!”
Iccchhk. I shuddered. Gah-ross. This is why running through the wilderness is not for me.
We ease into a walk again and look for our next turnoff. Or anywhere near where we should be. At this point, we are way off course. We just keep heading the direction we need to be going, and all the while my trainer-friend is completely sure that we will hit a road that crosses back over to our course. At this point, I’m carefully holding my breath as we run/walk behind the bus that’s stopped ahead.
Yum. Diesel fuel fumes during a run.
We turn off on the first road to get off of the major lanes of traffic that we’ve been on and then a scenic walking path appears. My trainer-friend says, “Come on, let’s pick it up and take it. This looks like a short cut.”
Uhhh. A short cut to where? The middle of the forest? A creek? A serial killer’s cabin in the woods?
But, we picked up our pace again and trudged along. Planner-friend seemed nervous. Straying from the course and marked streets was definitely not part of the plan. I really didn't care one way or another...eh. I've got people with me and a fancy phone at my disposal. I was just along for the ride. Then, my trainer-friend exclaims, “Look! A bridge! I love running on bridges!”
“You are a freak.” I yell back.
After a good laugh, and a gorgeous run through a scenic trail (it really was quite beautiful) we emerged somewhere slightly closer to where we needed to be. We slowed to a walk again. Where the hell were we? At this point, planner-friend pulled out her iPhone again to help us navigate. Thank God for satellite navigational systems. We figured out where we were and also realized we were on a time crunch now. We had to be home to pick up our kids from school. Our 6.2 mile run had turned into a 7.5 mile run through a maze of muck, mush, freeway ramps, trails, groundhogs, buses and bridges. During that last mile, my trainer-friend suggested that she sprint back to the car and then come back and pick us up. “Excellent idea!” I said. A few minutes later, I climbed into the front seat and sitting never felt so good. I yanked off my dirty, muddy running shoe and propped my left foot up on the dashboard. I slapped my ice pack on my shins and cracked open my water bottle. Ahhhh….
“Oh, this is okay, right?” I ask, after I’ve already propped my smelly, dirty sweat sock foot on her dashboard. “Oh sure,” she laughs in reply.
When we reached my house, I gingerly got out of the car and was surprised at how stiff I was. Yowza. I hobbled back up to my house and crashed on the couch. After a few hours of rest and ice, I was pleasantly surprised with how good I actually felt. Sure, I was tired. But my shins were surprisingly not hurting. I was ecstatic. No pain.
It just goes to show you that if you listen to your body, take it easy when necessary and use the appropriate, recommended treatment for a specific injury, you will get better. I was feeling good. I saw the course (at least part of it) I had a good run and walk with some great friends and the best part was that I wasn’t in pain.
But here’s the lesson I can take away from this now…Sometimes, the "plan" you have gets really screwed up. You get off course and you’ve got to figure things out, or change your plan. The journey is part of the fun. Sometimes, a change of course (and one that you might think is a wrong turn) is exactly what you need in your life to point you in the right direction. You might get a little dirty. It won't kill you. I was afraid of the pain. I was afraid of the course. It wasn’t so bad. Make your wrong turn, right. Sometimes, it's takes us longer to get where we need to be. Don't let the stinky fumes, the holes in the trail, or the muck in the road stop you. It might slow you down, but the point is: keep moving through it. Just because you lose your direction, doesn't mean that you are lost. Sometimes, that wrong turn leads to something quite beautiful.
By the way, I plan on obliterating last year’s race time because I won’t settle for anything less than my best. And neither should you.
P.S. I have since gotten a super-fancy trek phone of my own! I almost know how to use it... See? Change, even though sometimes scary, isn't always bad. Quiz time: What's the 2012 catch word? Courage. :)