Sorry if this post came out a little earlier than anticipated. I didn’t pay attention when scheduling, and it was an extremely rough version.
As runners, I think most can relate to doing something dumb when it comes to training. Something that is considered risky and something you knew was a bad idea. Yet for an unknown reason, we still do it. It could be a run or even a race.
Well, here I am a week later with a race recap of a race I ran the weekend before last. No one knew I was running because I didn’t even know until 6:30 am that day. As runners, I think we second guess during rest, and I did that. Despite not running that week, I felt fine. I didn’t feel out of the ordinary, and my foot didn’t ache. The x-ray the Tuesday before confirmed it wasn’t bone related. My foot didn’t hurt when I lived my life, but I hadn’t run either.
I woke up around six last Saturday, ate and poked around the computer. At 6:30 am, I saw the race started at eight right near work. It would give me plenty of time to get ready after the race and not be late. I told myself: “the best case scenario would be finishing healthy” and the worst case scenario was “not finishing healthy” but if anything felt off, I would stop running. I can’t explain it, but my gut told me it would be ok.
So with that I arrived at the race at 7, warmed up briefly and felt okay. My foot wasn’t achy, so I went to the start. I don’t have a smart reason of why I was even there. I wanted to test my foot, and this was probably the worst idea to do it.
With that, I started the race. The first mile was filled with young kids who took it out too quickly, and they all faded around .25. I found myself as first woman overall. I was carefully monitoring my foot, and I crossed the first mile in 5:51. I knew my fitness hadn’t gone anywhere from resting for a week, but I was more worried about my foot.
I ran the second mile alone. There was a lone male in front of me, but I ran the remainder of my race alone and in silence. It gave me ample time to focus on my own race. My foot wasn’t bothering me, and I hit the second mile in 6:05. There was nothing eventful about it.
By the third mile, my foot still wasn’t hurting or sore. My legs had no energy, but I was taking the race for what I wanted: “a healthy finish”. To my surprise, I ran the third mile in 5:50 as my fastest.
I crossed the finish in 18:33 and 1st woman overall. I was surprised because my legs felt lethargic from not running. I didn’t care because my foot didn’t hurt and my pain disappeared as fast as it came on last week.
Thoughts:
It was probably close to my dumbest idea ever, but I’m lucky I guess. I’m happy I finished healthy.
Have you ever worked out when you probably shouldn’t have?
There are many times that I jumped back into running without knowing for sure if my body was up for it or not- a few that ended well, a few that didn’t! But I’m glad your foot is feeling 100% and you were able to rock this race… and Broad street, too! 🙂
congrats! I definitely know what you mean – I never should have run the long island half last year only 3 days after a virus but I thought I felt fine – I was not fine and it was not a fun race.
I once ran an event that was a 10K, followed by a 5K. Same event, but the 5K started about 30 minutes after I finished the 10K (I think it was an 8:15 AM 10K and 9:30 5K). I ran both races as workouts for a half marathon and after the 10K I knew it was a stupid decision… but I still ran the 5K! It really set me back and I ended up just not running that particular half marathon, in fact, because I was scared from the injury. I’m definitely a bit more careful now…
I had a bad case of overtraining and just took off a day or two, until I “felt better.” It ended up costing me a month of training time, stress and I’m-not-running-depression. It definitely pays to listen to your body and take it slow, willing to just walk if you need to. Glad it went well!
I think you handled this really well. You made a decision after knowing the injury was not bone related and you were constantly checking in to see if there was anything off. I’m sure you would have stopped if there was but, intend you won a 5K before work. BOOM! Congrats speedy!
looks like your gut was right! sometimes i think the best thing to get over a thought of injury is to get out there and test it. after my stress fracture i was so afraid it was coming back i had to just suck it up listen to my gut and get back out there. thank goodness everything is fine with your foot and congrats on #1 overall!!
I actually don’t think it was a bad idea to test your foot out during this race. On a training run, your mind can obsess over aches and pains that might not necessarily be serious. But, when you’re racing, you’re so “in the moment” that your body will flag you only if something serious is happening. Ether way, I’m so glad you’re healthy and running strong. I’m SO excited for summer 5K season!