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Five and half weeks since my injury. I'm out of the gym. What kind of shape does one stay in without running for 4 weeks (biking and elliptical instead) after averaging over 50m for the previous 2 weeks? All of this time I could not push off with my right foot without pain or altering my stride. Running on the roads every day again and no run has been longer than six miles.
I vowed to start the Chicago marathon on Sunday. But I decided I'll only run halfway. My PF tear has mostly healed but I still feel "something" there when I run. Not pain. Friday was the first time in 6 weeks it felt normal. The perfect weather forecast was making me jealous of others. Will I restrain myself if the foot is feeling good?
The weather was clear and cold. Just a light breeze and I declared it epic weather for a fast race. I got dropped off on Michigan Avenue and headed for the charity village. Little did I know there were three charity sections and it wasn't in the first two I found. I met a younger girl who was running her first marathon for PAWS just as lost as I was. We found our charity in the last section and I wished her good luck. Just enough time for a team photo and we headed to the corrals an hour before the start.
It was going to be a weird day for me. I didn't need to worry too much about pacing. Only stay healthy. Too much fitness was lost. I decided to bring my cell phone alone and capture pictures of the day. Drink it all in and be grateful I could run. Such a simple thing but in the view of a runner, it is everything!
At the start with 40,000 of my closest friends
The elites were announced and we were off. I took my satisfaction that I was able to run from the B corral which was the top 4500 qualifiers excluding the elites and elite development runners. I was happy to raise money for a great charity. The Diabetes Action Team raised over $90,000 for the marathon. I enjoyed the crowds and the fact that I could run pain free. And high fived as many people who were looking for one. I took it in and enjoyed every step.
I ran every step to my race end. No stopping, no injury and pain free. I was grateful just to be out there. There will be many more races to run. Run happy.
