Success Failure and Happiness

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Oh boy, I sure wish that I had a wonderful report for you on my very first 14 mile run.  The truth is, that I only made it 7 miles. :(

On Friday night we all went out to eat.  My husband got a bonus at work, so the six of us lived it UP at The Golden Corral.  With four children, a buffet contains the single best odds for percentage of satisfaction.

And they have a chocolate fountain.  Boom.

We all got what we wanted to eat and I even got some guacamole! Yay!  As we were coming out of the restaurant, I stepped down and a white hot pain shot through my calf muscle.  Hmm...that was weird.  I stretched it a little and my muscle just tightened into a ball.  Hmm...

We went to another store and walked around (Friday night as a family of 6 - rock on!) and I had a tough time not limping.  By the time we got home, I was rubbing down with BioFreeze and stressing over my long run the next day.

Things seemed a little better on Saturday.  I took Susan to gymnastics, and came home to more BioFreeze.  When I headed out to meet my friend, Amanda, the calf felt okay so I figured I would just take it easy.  We ran and chatted and she turned around after a few miles.  I went on and about mile 6 things took a turn for the worse.  The calf pain was gone, but my knee was really tight.  I tried to run/walk for a while but in the end called for a pick-up.  I walked an additional mile - mostly to get to someplace warm to wait - but it didn't hurt when I walked, so may as well.

On Sunday morning, the pain had migrated up to manifest as a strained hip flexor.  Yeah, I know, weird.  My calf no longer hurts, my knee no longer hurts, but if I try to lift my leg - it gets REAL.  So...I spent today with Vitamin I every 4 hours and ice every 3-4 hours.  I swam tonight and kick sets were out of the question.  Boo.  I did, however, swim the furthest that I ever have.  I was solo and had time. Yay!

At this point - I have to find happiness in what IS.  Not what SHOULD BE.

So what did I learn?

1.  Strange things happen.  When you ask your body to go above and beyond, it might pull some strange stuff on you.  I keep trying to analyze the "fateful step" that I took on Friday night, but I can't pinpoint anything strange except for the result.

2.  It's okay to quit.  Yep.  When I called my husband to pick me up, I wasn't in much pain.  Yet.  I could still walk and might have been able to run through the pain in my knee.  Should I?  Probably not.  As a runner for 8 years, I know when it's okay (for my body) to quit.  The last time I ran through knee pain like that, I was out for the rest of the season with an IT Band injury.

3.  This isn't "it."  Do I want to run the full Marathon in May?  Sure!!  Will it be okay if I don't?  Yep.  If a Marathon just isn't in the Master's plan, then so be it.  Will I be a little disappointed?  You bet.  But this isn't the *only* Marathon this year...and this isn't the only year for me...I hope.

I feel successful just for the training.  Being in good enough shape that 10 mile runs don't seem like a huge deal any more is success.  Simply signing up and beginning training for 26.2 is success.  Being well enough emotionally to not freak out over a busted long run is success.

I tend to plot a course, and deem any deviation something less than success.  It's not true!  Don't believe it!!  Forward motion is success.  So, despite not being able to put the check mark in the box next to the 14 mile run - I am a shining success. :)

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