The Sad Truth

It’s starting to become apparent to me that I am not going to be able to run the marathon. I tried to get a few miles in today. I took myself up to the park, stretched a bit, and gave it my best, and my ankle had nothing. I couldn’t come anywhere near a normal stride, and what I did manage, I didn’t want to stick with for any length of time. It hurts more now a few hours later. I can deny reality with the best, but it isn’t likely I’ll be doing 26 in a week. Honestly, I’m not sure when I’ll be running again.

I’ve never had a running injury before this year, not even shin splints, but this year I’ve been plagued by them. I had shin splints in the spring, I could barely motivate in the summer, and I’ve been fighting the Achilles in my other leg for most of the fall. So, in a way, injuries are the story of my running year and this may well be the capper. See you in the spring.

Of course, it’s not time to say it isn’t happening quite yet. I don’t even have to cancel until nearly 17 hours before the start. I don’t have to cancel at all if I really want to push my luck. A little further down the line is the Philly Marathon and then even further Palm Beach. Injury allowing, I don’t have to give up on all of the training yet. Still, that’s not a lot of consolation, it’s just more limbo. Until I can run at all, I think I have to put it all out of my mind, something that’s not all that easy.

If you read about running, you read about runners becoming depressed when they suffer an injury that forces them to interrupt their training. Running has a way of becoming part of your life; it can even become part of your lifestyle. Take away something like that and there’s going to be effect.

Training for the marathon in 2004, I had no one to run with besides Slow Tony. That’s changed, mostly through the hash, but it seems like everyone else I know is a runner now. Really strange women propose running dates with me on nerve.com and everyone I know is doing some sort of team in training event. Very cool, at least it was until this happened. Now, I feel left out, I feel jealous, and I feel a little bit like a loser. That’s all silly of course, but its how I feel. Ultimately, I feel sorry for myself because this really sucks.

Anyway, that’s the last I’m going to write on this subject until I can run again. I’m going to abuse my body for a few days now, and we’ll see where that takes me.