Healing, Pacing, and Lamenting

Recovery time after the Vancouver [Half] Marathon has been longer than expected, and I have to admit I’ve grown impatient with my body (namely, my left leg) as it learns how to work properly again.  I’ve woken up many nights due to pain in my lower hamstring, and I’ve tried to focus all of my previous commitment to/ excitement about running to other endeavors (like yoga, swimming, strengthening exercises, and foam rolling)… But I still feel like I’m missing out!

In an effort to protect my leg, I decided not to run the Shore Run 10K and opted to walk the 5K with my aunt instead.  Cheryl and I had a lovely time as we walked the course at a brisk pace, and it was a great reminder that it’s OK to be slower.  Photos below demonstrate our grand adventure.  You will notice in the very granular, poor quality ones (if you can see them well enough) that I hammed it up for the official race photos—including a heel-click and dramatic finish with Cheryl, hand in hand.

 

However, when given the chance to serve as a pacer for the Seattle Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon (LINK here), I decided it was an opportunity that I did not want to pass up.  I would only have to pace half of the marathon (starting at mile 12 to get a feel for the pace and then taking over at mile 13), and it was at a much slower pace than any of my previous half-marathons—including the very first one I ever completed in October 2012.  Therefore, I convinced myself that it would be easy.

My experience proved otherwise!  It was a beautiful day in Seattle, and I greatly enjoyed cheering on other runners, keeping a consistent pace, and taking in the excitement of the event.  I felt great…  until about mile 24 (mile 12 for me)!  My leg hurt, and I was suddenly was suppressing the urge to vomit.   (Perhaps this was due to the fact that it was a hot Seattle day, and in an attempt to model good hydration habits for all runners, I had made an effort to drink sports drinks at every water stop—maybe causing my stomach to overflow with Gatorade???).  I handed the sign to my co-pacer, ran off course, and had a nice little throw-up session by myself.

I was conveniently right near my downtown office and was VERY tempted to give-up and head inside for some recovery… But I decided I needed to finish!  I started running again; eventually, I could see my pacing group up ahead of me.  I got closer and closer to catching them, but ultimately finished behind them.  As defeated and crummy as I felt, I was happy to have made it to the finish line.  Here are some photos of the event:

 

 

I am now preparing for a much-anticipated Ragnar Pacific Northwest Relay Race that starts tomorrow.  I’ve stayed off my leg as much as possible; I'm prepared to take it easy on each of my runs.  I even emailed my teammates to let them know that I’ll probably be far from 100%.  I hope that it will be a more pleasant experience than the pacing gig.  I have another appointment with my Sports Medicine Doctor next week, and I’m optimistic that this leg will be able to run happy once again at some point in the near future!  In the meantime, I will appreciate the gift of learning patience this experience has granted me.