Here we go again...

It's officially been two months (plus a few days) since the Boston marathon, which was really the last time I had a somewhat decent run.  Turns out my hunches about being injured pre-marathon were correct.

In the weeks following the race, I felt horrible.  Beat up.  Like I never recovered.  I tried to follow reverse taper schedule, but instead of getting better, I was getting worse.  A month after the marathon I attempted to race the 5K my school puts on every spring. I finished over 2 minutes slower than my normal 5K time and my knee swelled up like crazy. A week later I tried one more time to get in a decent run.  I did three half mile repeats, and by the last one I couldn't walk on my right leg.

Back to the orthopedist.  He suspected a torn meniscus.  The MRI confirmed what I already knew. 

So... here I am on the couch recovering from knee surgery.  I'm a terrible patient.  I can't stand lying around.   My doctor says I can try running in about a month.  A month.  A month feels like forever, especially since I haven't run at all for three weeks. Granted, it's better than four months.  That's what I keep telling myself.  

Check out this quote I found today when I was bored out of my mind and reading medical journals on meniscus surgery (yeah, I'm a nerd.)

 Dedicated seemingly beyond logic.  A difficult group indeed.

Boston Part 2: Game On!

PRE-RACE
6 a.m. and I'm wide awake.  I'm the only one in the whole apartment.  I don't know WHY I'm awake, we don't have to leave until 8:30... the whole reason we stayed by the start was so we could avoid the crazy early race wake up time (that, and it was $144 a night for a two bedroom apartment with free breakfast and parking.)  I went downstairs to the buffet when it opened and expected to see tons of runners, but no, it was just me.  Apparently everyone else was still sleeping.  I had some oatmeal, a waffle, and some coffee, and headed back upstairs.  Everyone was STILL asleep.  7 a.m.  What was I supposed to do for 90 minutes?

Eventually, after an hour that seemed like eternity, Jamie (and Jack, and my dad) got out of bed, got ready, and headed to the lobby with Tuan.   They ate, I watched the news which was now predicting high 60s by 2pm,-- likely when I'd be in the last 10K, fantastic -- and headed to the car.

I was predicting mass chaos similar to our traffic jam disaster prior to the Philly Marathon, but there was none.  We got to the South Street athlete shuttle in less than ten minutes, and the line moved quickly.  There was a man with a metal detector, and I "went off" when he scanned me.  Why? GU packets.  Haha.  The detector really went off like crazy when he scanned Jamie, who removed a box he was holding under his sweatshirt.  He had Clif Shots.  "How many Clif Shots did you bring?" I asked him.  "Not sure."  he said.  I grabbed the unopened box that I had recently bought for $25.  "Um, honey, how many gels are you going to take?  There are 24 here.  You didn't want to grab, like, 6?"  "Ooops?" he said.  Tuan quipped "He's not taking any chances with his nutrition!"  I just rolled my eyes and we got on the bus.

By the time we got to the Athlete's Village it was starting to get warm.  Jamie, whose wasn't exactly in tip top marathon shape (the whole breaking a rib by falling on the ice back in late January didn't get his training off to a great start... six weeks of recovery, so he really only got in a six week cycle), decided he would go ahead and start in Wave 1 (which I wasn't allowed to start in) to avoid the later heat.  Tuan and I still had a 25 minute wait before I was allowed to walk to the corrals.  Jamie handed me the 18 Clif Shots he apparently didn't really need (which I tried to donate to other runners, but nope, no one wanted them, so I left them on the bagel and banana table) as he headed off.  Tuan and I got in the port-o-pot line.

It didn't move.  At all.  Not one step in ten minutes.  And then they called my corral.

There is no good place to pee in the Athlete's village.  And I really, really, really had to go.  We headed towards the start and I heard my name.  I turned and saw my (fast) friend Andie.  The first thing out of my mouth was "I have to PEE!"  I was really about to cry.  She pointed behind the dumpster.  "Just go!"  There was a police officer standing right down the road.  Game time decision -- I did not want to pee on myself.  So I went behind that dumpster and I swear the officer saw the whole thing.  He did not arrest me, and I felt SO MUCH BETTER.

I drank a half bottle of Gatorade on the 15 minute walk to the start, and when we arrived, I saw this HEAVENLY SEA OF PORT-O-POTTIES WITH NO LINE!  Seriously.  There were like hundreds of them. "I'm going again!" I told Tuan.  So I did.  By the time we got back, my entire wave was gone.  We had missed the Wave 2 start entirely, and Wave 3 was nowhere to be seen. So it was kind of a weird start.... we just started running.  And as I clicked on my Garmin and crossed the timing mat, I welled up with tears. I was really running the Boston Marathon.

MILES 1-6
1: 7:29 
2: 7:49 
3: 7:46 
4: 7:51 
5 - reset clock to match mile markers so 1.1 miles in 8:01 (7:53 pace) 
6: 7:47 
I was so excited!  I didn't really look at my Garmin much, and as usual Tuan was chatting to everyone, high-fiving all the spectators, throwing cups of water into my face... he qualified for this race with a 3:00:23, so going out at a... hey, what pace were we running anyhow?  We crossed the 5K timing mat just over 24 minutes.  Ooops.  That was not much slower than my 5K split at my last half marathon.  "SLOW DOWN NGUYEN!" I yelled.  "You're fine!  It's downhill... you need to have a little time in the bank for Newton, those hills are tough."  We kept running.  I took my first gel at 4.  I was already hot.

MILES 7-16
7: reset clock to match mile markers so 1.11 in 8:05 (7:58 pace) 
8: 7:50 
9: 7:54 
10: 7:57 
11: 7:57 
12: 7:51 
13: reset clock to match mile markers so 1.1 in 8:06 (7:59 pace) 
14: 7:52 
15: reset clock to match markers so 1.1 in 8:10 (8:04 pace) 
16: 7:49 
The course wasn't as steep of a downhill anymore, and I was able to settle into the 7:55-7:59 pace I had planned.  It felt great.  Tuan told me I'm right on pace to PR, and throws another cup of water over my head.  We get to Wellesley and he leaves me to kiss all the girls cheering on the right.  Their signs are hilarious.  I love this race.  I am running Boston.  This is the best marathon ever.

MILES 17-18
17: 8:31 
18: 8:34 
The Newton Hills begin.  I had budgeted on an 8:30 pace for the UP parts, and a 7:40 pace for the down parts..... unfortunately after I got up the first hill, the down started to hurt like crazy.  My quads were not happy. This suddenly was the worst marathon ever.

MILES 19-21
19: Reset laps so 1.2 in 9:35 -- 8:55 pace. 
20: 8:48 -
21: 9:07 

I'm seeing a lot of 9:XX registering on my Garmin.  That isn't boding well for a PR. I'm really hot, and I know I have two more miles of hills.  My quads are revolting.  I turn to Tuan after the 19th mile and say "We went out too fast."  He says "Well you aren't PRing today.  You might as well just have fun."  I look at my watch.  I can still BQ... maybe... but it's going to take some hard work.  I stick in my ear buds, which I had set to my favorite playlist "in case emergency motivation is needed", but instead of what I thought I had it cued to -- my hip hop mix of running songs (BORN TO RUN, CHARIOTS OF FIRE, etc.), out blares THE WIGGLES.  THE FREAKING WIGGLES!  You have got to be kidding me.  What happened to my playlist?  I am not listening to my two and a half year old's favorite band while I run up Heartbreak Hill.  I ripped my iPhone out of its case and shuffle up hill #3 as I find MY playlist.  It made Heartbreak a little more bearable, but I think that half mile was at a 10 minute pace.  I started to wonder if a re-BQ was even possible.

MILES 22-25
22: Reset clock to match mile markers. 1.2 in 9:15 -- 8:40 pace. 
23: 8:54 
24: 8:51 
25: 9:14 

After Heartbreak, the course is pretty much downhill, so I was sure I could make up some time and finish under 3:35.  Except I couldn't run downhill anymore because MY QUADS HURT SO BAD!  The sun was blazing.  Tuan had given up on me and kept telling me to "run for fun."  I didn't train this hard to give up at the end, and I was going to give it all I had, which at this point wasn't much.  Every time I saw a 9 on the Garmin, I'd try to put some surges in.   They didn't help my overall pace, and 3:35 was no longer attainable.  Under 3:40 and try again next year?  Maybe.  My legs felt like they were going to fall out from underneath me, and I was beginning to wonder if I could even pull THAT off -- it would mean no ten minute miles.  And the pace was really starting to creep up there.  It was so hot, and Tuan had disappeared, so that meant he wasn't dumping water on my head anymore. Screw this marathon.  I hate everyone.  I think there might have been people cheering on the sidelines, but all I could see was pain.  I am never running this far again, ever.  Ever, ever, ever.  And where the heck was Tuan?   (Apparently, I found out later, he saw me suffering and ran off to get me water, then accidentally dumped it on the wrong girl, who was not pleased... and then lost me completely.)

THE END!
26: 9:11
.2: (which came in at .3) - 2:41 (9:20 pace)
 I ripped out my ear buds because even MY PLAYLIST was annoying me, and figured I should listen to the crowds at the end.  Except my legs hurt so much I couldn't enjoy them.  WHERE WAS THE FINISH LINE?  I crossed the 26th mile marker, and spotted Tuan, who wasn't running... he appeared to be looking for me.  He was on the left side facing the oncoming runners, and I was on the right.  I feebly attempted to wave my arms and call out his name, but I didn't have any energy left, and I knew I was only a couple of minutes from the end, and very close to having absolutely no BQ cushion.  So I just kept my eyes on that finish line.

And then I crossed that timing mat that comes a few yards from the finish, so they can call out your name as you cross, and I knew I was going to make it.  And I smiled.  Big time.  I finished Boston.  Not in the time I had set out for, but I did requalify by a little over two minutes and I did give it my all.

3:37:52.  The Garmin says 26.55.... way to run those tangents, Gretchen.

FINISHED!  UNBROKEN!  I AM ELATED!

A year ago I had a pelvic stress fracture.  7 months ago I was running on an Anti-Gravity Treadmill.  6 weeks ago I fell on ice and wasn't sure I would be able to run this race at all.  On April 21, 2014, I finished the Boston Marathon.

THE AFTER
My phone, fully charged at the start, was almost dead even though I didn't turn on the music until I was well into Newton... how did that happen?.  Jamie called me and said something about he was done and his legs hurt so he was getting a massage.   Tuan was nowhere in sight, and hadn't brought anything with him except his drivers license, so I had no way to find him.  My dad met me at the end of the finish chute (he has some iPhone app he can track me with, which come to think about it probably was the reason my phone was dead.)  I posted something on Facebook that Tuan and Jamie should meet us at the Family Meeting area (and later I found out there were TWO family meeting areas -- what kind of ridiculousness is that?), and eventually - like an entire hour later, after Tuan checked his Facebook page at the AT&T booth for some clues on where we might be -- we all reunited.   But too late to get the train back to our car and retrieve Tuan's backpack.  He just got on the T and went straight to the airport, carrying nothing but a credit card and his drivers license.  He claims that 75% of his flight were runners. Wouldn't you love to be the non-runner on that flight.....

The Boston Marathon - Part 1: PRE GAME!

April 19.  Arrival to Boston.  We made great time, leaving at 5am and getting to our hotel in Westborough at about 12:45 pm.  Jamie had a nap (he had driven most of the way ) and my very restless kids starting tearing the two bedroom apartment to shreds.  It started with hide and seek and turned into tag, and I decided that we needed to get out of there.  We headed into Boston to pick up our bibs and hit the expo.  My parents were NOT making good time, so we had to take them with us.  Note to self:  two kids under the age of 6 at an expo who have spent the majority of the day strapped into a seat belt watching movies on the iPad is a bad, bad idea.  They decided to run their OWN marathon in the convention center.  We lost them a few times.  They hid behind the expo curtains.  Susanna almost knocked over one of those 50 foot high booth dividers.  Sooo....  we headed back to the hotel and gave up on dinner.  My parents were there when we got back, and hadn't eaten either, so my mom and I headed out on route 9 to try to pick up some food as well as Easter treats.  We ended up getting lost.  Got back to the hotel at 10pm with beer and pizza.  Probably not the BEST carb-loading strategy.  Got the kids to sleep, played Easter bunny and finally got some sleep myself a little after midnight.

April 20.  I had every intention to go to a church for Easter, but that didn't happen.  Instead, we celebrated in our hotel, including a fabulous brunch in the lobby (with a lot of other runners -- about 109 of them, I believe.....) and then headed out to a park so the kids could burn off some energy and hunt down some plastic eggs.  Loved the little New England town we were staying in, and met a family from Hopkinton who was just fabulous.  They had a little girl Susanna's age and we played and chatted for an hour.  They said nothing ever happens in Hopkinton except the marathon!  I got a text from Tuan that said he was at the expo and that he'd decided he would run with me.  I had made plans to run with some of the people from DC Road Runners also hoping for a 3:30ish pace, but hadn't yet met up with them (actually, I had yet to run into ANYONE I knew) so Tuan and I decided we'd stick together and start with the other two if we actually found them.

We got back in the car and headed to Boston so my parents could do some sightseeing and we could pick up Tuan.  We decided to drive the course.  All 26.2 miles.  This is probably not a good idea to do the day before running it.  It was hilly.  It took almost an hour to drive it.  My daughter was complaining about how far it was.  At about halfway, she whined "I HATE BOSTON!  IT IS SOOOOOO FAR AWAY!"  I turned to her and said "Mommy and Daddy have to run there tomorrow."  She looked at me like I was crazy and said "Mommy, why would you do that when you could drive?"  Yeah, that's a very good question, isn't it.  Then we hit the Newton Hills, and I decided there were actually four of them.  This did not look like an easy course.

We had a hard time finding parking and only got a space we had to get out of by 6 (it was 4pm at this point), so we split up and Jamie and I met Tuan and decided we'd walk to the athlete's dinner and stop and check out the finish line area on the way.  We stopped on Boylston and tried the 26.2 Brew, which I REALLY liked and was bummed it was the day before the race because I would have liked to have more than a couple of sips (Jamie drank most of it) and then walked to the athlete dinner to get in line.  Except we couldn't find the end of the line.  We walked around the block... and the next block... and the next block... and the next block... and still hadn't seen the end of the line. I guess if you offer free food to 36,000 .... It was cold.  I was hungry.  My husband was really hungry and really cold and these are the two things that turn him into a gremlin.  I felt very sorry for Tuan because at that point, I think we pretty much almost got divorced right at Boston City Hall (this was, of course, my idea to partake in this dinner... he wanted to just eat at Unos on Boylston.... poor Tuan!) so we went down to the train station and discovered that there wasn't another train going back to Ashland for like two hours.  Soooo..... we called my Mom and she agreed to pick us up at Boston College, which was still like 20 miles from our hotel.  We got on the train and met a family who had gone to the pre-pasta dinner.  They had waited in line for an hour.  They said the food was quite good (salad, rolls, pasta, 26.2 brew.... all free...) and were carrying the dessert goodie bags containing Lindt Easter Bunnies and Toblerone bars....I was really, really, really hungry now.

At BC, we found a little pizza shop that served pasta.  It was greasy and not very good, but it was food.  We finally got picked up at 9pm, and were back to the hotel by 9:30.  I spent some time getting my race outfit ready, started getting really nervous, freaked out a little more, and finally got to sleep.

The Verdict....

....is IT Band Tendonitis.  I landed right where it connects to my knee during my fall, and it is apparently just a little angry.

I can live with that.  Normally that would not be super news, but I think I can keep it under control until the race.  At least I hope I can.

My immediate future looks like I'll be wearing an IT Compression Strap on all my runs, taking NSAIDs afterwards, and resting the day after long runs (and I only have one more long run) to give the IT time to calm down.  Also, the doctor prescribed massage.  Can't complain about being ordered to get multiple massages in the next few weeks!

Here is my IT strap.  Stunning!

I was pretty excited to not even feel my IT during this run.  Except right after I took my selfie, I did start to feel it, but it wasn't really painful.  Definitely improvement!

AND IT IS SPRING!  FINALLY!   I saw about 8 deer on my run in the woods, but I only could catch two of them before they hopped away.

18 more days and a doctor's appointment....

I finally broke down and made an appointment with my orthopedist.

It's been exactly four weeks since I fell.  My knee and hip are still popping all the time.  I still get some knee pain on and off during runs. And my knee and hip keep swelling up after hard workouts, with stiff muscles the next day.

The positive:  I'm not having, and haven't had, any major pain during a run. I've been able to go easy for 18-20 miles, I've even done some tempo runs at race pace without major pain, and aside from a few runs where my knee started bugging me with a very manageable ache, I've had no chronic pain.  When I had the EPIC fracture, the pain would start within a mile and just get worse as I ran.  Now, if I do get knee pain, it comes and then leaves as my leg loosens up.  I can hop on my leg and it doesn't hurt.

BUT the "payback pain" is so similar to what I had when my stress fracture was undiagnosed, but healing.  When I would run about two months into the healing process (and I never tried to go more than a couple of miles) it would feel okay but the next day my leg would lock up and I'd have an inflamed hip and knee, with snapping and popping in the joints.  Exactly the same feeling as what I had all day today.

So I called and made an appointment.  And I'm so, so scared.

I broke down crying this afternoon.  I'm terrified of another stress fracture.  I've been so good about not overdoing it, about taking easy days and rest days, and not running on anything that hurts.  And then I fall.

I was going to make today a rest day, but my husband told me to go out and run with the kids in the jogger, and to stop if it hurt.  They needed fresh air, and I needed that run.  I took some Advil and ran about four and half miles on the Accotink Trail.  I didn't go fast.  It didn't hurt, and it still feels good.

 Some days I have no doubt that I'll get to the starting line healthy, and other days (like today) I am convinced I have a major injury that is going to take months of rehab.  I'm not willing to race Boston if it's going to put me out for another season, so I am getting this checked out.

But -- please excuse the sappiness here -- it's going to break my heart if I can't run this race.  Jamie is running. My parents and children are coming to cheer us on.  And.. it's Boston. I worked SO hard to qualify for this race.

Selfish?  Maybe. It's just a race, right? Last year I put in the training cycle of my life, and got a stress fracture during the taper.  This year I have trained through the winter that nearly killed me -- can we say FROZEN -- I'm talking miles and miles on the treadmill, long runs with negative wind chills, far too many numb fingers and toes and honestly, unpleasant runs that I could only do with this goal in my head....  I want to cross that starting line, and that finish line, more than I can put into words.

Anyone training for a spring marathon through this Polar Vortex deserves a medal just for the training...

Anyhow -- virtual hand holding appreciated at tomorrow's doctor's appointment.  Fingers crossed that this is nothing major.

26 days ago go... just get me to the starting line.

I haven't written for awhile because I haven't wanted to admit what has been going on.  But, let's start from the beginning....

So it's been a snowy, snowy winter.  Fairfax County isn't the best at snow removal, and that means that every time it snows (which has been pretty much every week since December) there is no safe place to run.  I have spikes in a pair of running shoes but even they haven't been suitable for 6+ inches of snow that hasn't been plowed.  So a lot of my runs this year have been on the treadmill.  Still, I have managed to get in a really decent training cycle.

Three weeks ago to this day, I was just so sick of the treadmill.  There was no safe place to run in my neighborhood, and we'd been out of school for two days and had a delay on Wednesday.  Susanna's school opened on time, so I figured I'd be okay running on the well plowed sidewalk at the Merrifield Town Center after dropping her off.  I had 8 easy miles on the schedule, and needed to be at work by 10:40.  I looked at my watch when I had a couple of miles ago go, and decided to pick up the pace for the last couple miles.  I was on my 7th lap of the town center loop when I found myself sprawled on the street.  I don't remember falling.  All I remember was sheering pain in my knee and elbow.  It was so bad that I couldn't stand up. Some construction workers ran over to me.  "How did that happen?" I thought.  Then I noticed the black ice, in between two sections of sidewalk.  I was bloody and hurting, but I still needed to get back to my car. Running didn't seem to hurt too badly, so I finished up and remember thinking I was glad I didn't break anything.

The next day I stuck to the treadmill.  Running didn't hurt, but everything seemed to swell up afterwards.   5 easy the next day, and I felt okay. 22.5 -- the biggest run of the training schedule -- was on Friday.  I felt fine during the run but afterwards everything hurt.  I took the following day off and felt okay on Monday.

The next week started out okay with an easy run Monday. Tuesday I did speedwork in the morning, and then an easy 8 in the afternoon.  Again, everything swelled up the next day.  My leg hurt all of Wednesday but loosened up for the run.  Easy Thursday -- felt better. Friday easy, all good.  Saturday 18, and I was feeling great so I did 14 of that at planned marathon pace.  The next day my knee swelled up again. Did an easy 8 and didn't feel any better afterwards so I called my physical therapist.

She was able to get me in on Monday, and could see swelling.  She advised me to add a few rest days that week, which I did.  I did a great tempo run on Thursday, an easy run on Friday, and felt great for my 20 miler on Saturday, albeit sore afterwards.  Sunday I did a short easy run and again felt everything flare up again.

Monday I set off for a morning run with my friend Holly and although I had pretty dead legs from my long run, I felt decent... until about 7 miles in.  My knee, for the first time since I fell, started to hurt DURING the run.  It was the same area that has been swollen afterwards, but this time it hurt with every step.  I had ten miles on the schedule, so after I bid Holly farewell at the 8th mile, I slowed the run to a jog and felt much better.  I was able to finish without much pain, so I decided I would skip my speed session on Tuesday and just attempt to get in some easy miles.

Tuesday is track day, and I got in about 5 before the track session started.  I decided to see how a 1K repeat felt - it felt great!  I did it at a 6:40 pace, and did a slow lap around the track.  I did another one, felt great, another slow lap.  Took off for the third, and by the second lap I could feel my knee start to ache. I slowed it down to a jog again, and figured I'd just try to jog the last three I had on the schedule to get to 14.  Except the pain didn't subside this time when I slowed down.  So I quit.

I skipped today, and I am not going to even attempt to run until Saturday.  I am icing.  I am foam rolling.  I am praying.

I have worked so hard to train for Boston.  I want to run the race I trained for.  However, at this point, I also just want to run the race.  After sustaining an epic injury, I am terrified I will not even make it to the starting line.

I know, I know, I know.  Go see a doctor.  Get an x-ray.  Well, guess what.  Last year my doctor told me I was fine to run Shamrock, the x-ray picked up nothing, and I started the race with a fractured pelvis.  Excruciating pain ended my attempt three miles into the marathon, and even after that I didn't get a correct diagnosis for two more months.  Quite frankly, a "good" diagnosis from a doctor will not give me "peace of mind."  And quite frankly, every major injury I've had (pelvic stress fracture, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, Metatarsel Stress Fracture, and Plantar Facsaitis) I've managed to figure out myself and then had to ask the doctor if that is what I had, and I was always right.

It could be something that a a few days of rest will take care of.

It could be a fracture.  Since, after all, it's March, and that's when I seem to get them.  (And by the way, the only good thing about the month of March is that my daughter was born.  Did I mention that I slipped on the ice while running on my due date with her, and landed on my belly?  She was okay, and I was okay, but I rest my case that March is not the best running month for me.)

Anyhow - if you have any positive vibes to send to my knee, please do.  For now I'll be pool running for a few days with my fingers crossed.

Anniversary

Exactly one year ago... the Thursday after I ran the RRCA Club Challenge... I set out for a short little tempo run.  I dropped Susanna off at school at 8am on the dot so I could get in four miles before I had to be at an 8:40 meeting.  I was feeling fatigued and hadn't done any speed work since the race, and felt no pain on this run (or any previous runs) but could not get my pace below an 8 minute mile.  Defeated, I went to my meeting.  When I stood up, I was limping.  And thus began my epic injury that consumed thousands of dollars in doctors appointments, PT, and of course, lost race fees.

I had planned on a 12 mile run before work this morning, but my calf has been cranky, my right achilles has been tight, and my neighbor Holly who usually does these way-too-early runs with me is skiing in Utah.  When my alarm went off at 5:07am, I checked the weather -- 17 degrees with a windchill of 5 -- and rolled over to go back to sleep.  Running alone in those conditions was just not appealing...

At noon, I started to get phantom pains in my left hip.  Could they be real?  Every time I sat down, I was sure that when I stood up I'd be limping.  I decided that maybe I should take a rest day, even though last week was a recovery week and this week I'm supposed to be at peak mileage. Aside from the calf that seems to be getting better every day, I didn't really have a reason to skip the run.  Except then I'd feel another twinge... my right ankle this time.  Or maybe it was my left hip.  Or maybe my right foot.  Come to think of it, my knees kind of hurt.  And maybe my shin?

At lunch I googled "warning signs of a stress fracture."  And basically it said they come on without warning.  That would be right -- there was NO warning for either of the fractures I've sustained. They came on suddenly, the first during a marathon (far left metatarsel on the left foot, and only an 8 week layoff from running, during a time I would have been recovering from a marathon, so really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things -- plus it got me hooked on swimming and biking and led me to my first tri season) and the second when I wasn't even running (that being the injury I never, ever, ever want to relive..)

I spent the majority of my lunch break reading Camille Herron's blog on stress fractures.  She advised serious runners to take it easy most of the time... she said she had the most stress fractures when she was doing all high intensity runs on lower mileage, and the least on high mileage (averaging 120-30 per week!) when she did about 80% of her runs about 2 minutes per mile slower than her 5K pace.  My 5K pace is probably a little under 7 minutes per mile, and I have no issues at all with running 9s or even closer to 10s.  So I decided I would go ahead and try to get my mileage in -- slowly -- today.  I did the middle six miles with the Lululemon Run Club, and got in almost 12 total.  Walked in, ate dinner with my family....  I wasn't limping after dinner.  So I've officially made it one year post injury without another stress fracture.

I'm still flipping out.  This whole "stress fractures come on without warning" thing is a little more than scary.  Poor Paula Radcliffe, the marathon record holder, can't even jog more than a few miles at a time due to a stress fracture on her foot that never healed.  I read a recent article where she said that she just wants to be able to run for pleasure at this point.  She said she can't even run after her two children.

I've spent so much time in the past 2 years trying to better myself as a runner.  I want to push myself to the breaking point.. but not break.  I guess all of us out there who are trying to set PRs and get the most out of our "running years" deal with this.  How far can we push our bodies before they cry "Uncle!"

I want to reach the start line of the Boston Marathon.  Unbroken.  But ready.  It's hard to know where that magic line is.