After my disappointment with my run on Wednesday in all the gross fall weather, Thursday proved to be a much nicer day, and I was excited to get back out and run in the warmer temps and sunshine. I decided to throw on my new kicks this time too and try them out. I'd read several places that you should break in new shoes slowly - wear them a couple times here and there in between wearing your regular shoes until they're broken in. So today was the day to start breaking them in. I was actually really excited, because these new shoes were a pair of Asics, and I'd heard (from several people) that this brand was particularly good for runners. I'd been wearing Nike shoes since I started running and had always been pretty faithful to the brand, even before I started running. I just liked the way they felt on my feet. But why not try something else, especially if I might be missing out on something more comfortable for me?
I hit the trail, feeling pretty spiffy in my new shoes, excited to see what I could do. But wait - what was happening????? I wasn't even a quarter of a mile into my 5k route I'd planned for the day, and everything from my knees downward was suddenly and completely on fire. My shins were in so much pain! I had NEVER ever felt pain in my shins from running, even when I first started out. Shin splints weren't my thing. My knees started to ache, my calf muscles tightened, and the tendonitis in the top of my foot was severely aggravated. Again - keep in mind I was only a quarter of a mile out. Could this really be from the shoes?!?!?!?!? I decided to keep going and see if the pain subsided. After all, I'm assuming there was a reason I was supposed to slowly break in my new shoes.
In reality, my positive spin on things was too optimistic - but a least I tried. The further I ran, the worse it felt. The pain even migrated up to my thighs and hamstrings. Running had never been so uncomfortable in my entire life. Even my first attempt at running in the very very beginning of this adventure felt better. I was trying to ignore all of it and keep going. I didn't want to make excuses to give up just because it was hard. I didn't make this much progress by giving in when things got hard.
So around 1.5 miles, I had to make a decision. I've been the person in the past who lets injuries, illnesses, weird pains, etc. go too long before doing something about them. I ignore them, tell myself I'm fine, and just keep pushing through them, certain it'll just get better on its own. A lot of the time, this works for me - and I avoid a TON of wasted time in doctor's offices - but on occasion I'm wrong and wait too long to seek help. This thought was nagging at me. What if I was wrong this time too? What if I didn't stop and ended up injuring myself? Then I'd probably need to take quite a bit of time off from running. All my hard work and all the endurance I'd built up would start to dwindle in that time off. I'd risk falling off the wagon completely, gaining all the weight back, and returning to my old lifestyle. "Sorry," I told myself - but that was too big of a risk for me. As much as I HATED to stop short of the distance I'd planned for the day, I had to listen to what my body was telling me.
I felt a bit like I'd failed, but I stopped at 2 miles anyway. It wasn't one of my better runs by any means, but I guess a bad run (and a short run) is better than no run at all - at least that's what I told myself. To make up for stopping short, I at least walked another mile if I wasn't going to run it. I also made sure to stretch out my legs extra long that night to avoid injury even more.
I went to bed disappointed, but I felt pretty good the next morning. I was determined to get back out there Friday evening (in my regular shoes) and hit it hard. I needed to redeem myself. And redeem myself I did! I planned another 5k route - and totally killed it! I came in at 30:32 - another personal best! I couldn't believe it. I guess I need to stick with Nike running shoes! Everyone has their favorites, and it's obvious what I'm comfortable with. After such a disappointing day the day before, I certainly wasn't expecting to crush my personal best again. I had been stuck in a rut so long, and now all of a sudden, I've been blowing away my personal records in both the 2 mile and 3.1 mile routes. Come on - if I can run 3.1 miles in under 31 minutes on more than one occasion, I can do anything. This girl is out to conquer the world - watch out! :oD
No comments:
Post a Comment