Leading the Pack!

The winter Marathoner in Training (MIT) session started today. I was so energized. There were a lot of people and about half of them were new. The motto of MIT is "Run a Marathon, Change Your Life" and we were asked to raise our hand if running changed our lives. I raised my hand emphatically. Some of my running friends from the last time were there, which was nice. One of them is training for the Disney Marathon, so she's up to 20 miles! She and I met each other when we were getting lost doing a six miler some time in June, so it's great to see how far she's come.

I was so excited to start running again. Unlike the majority of last season, I actually started with the 11:00 m/m pace group and ended up leading them, sort of. I broke off and went on my own ahead of them after the first mile. I had my music player, my new winter running pants and some terrific adrenaline. Most of the group I was with only did three miles, including me. We went from the high school and then on the bike path and turned around. The last .75 miles was an eye opener for the newbies. It's the same hill we went DOWN when we started, but when you have to go back up it to get to the end of the run it can wear you out if you are not used to it. Quite a few people were walking up the hill. When we got to the end I heard one of the participants at the water station exclaim, "No wonder I could do an 11:00 minute pace when we started - we were going downhill!" Yep. It's a great way to start, but a pain to finish.

I got a huge kick out of one man at the water station who commented to me - "Looks like you were leading the pack!" I needed to hear that, after all the pain and PT and trepidation from my shin splints that I've experienced in the last year. When I got into the car I had to call my husband and tell him all about it (even though I only live five minutes away).

Now at 8:30 p.m. my legs are throbbing. I guess it's the price you pay for the "rush" of the run.

Two weeks ago I was limping when I would start out my run because my legs were so tight. And afterwards I would practically limp home. I resolved to see the doctor again. I did see the doctor again this week, but when I went to see him my legs didn't hurt nearly as bad. I felt like I had taken my car into the shop and it wouldn't make that annoying noise for anyone else to hear. Nevertheless, I asked about orthotics, and I go in next week to get a cast of my feet. In the meantime I am trying to run a little differently - stick my chest out more and run a little more from my hips/quads. I think I have been using my lower legs for the majority of the work and this might be part of the problem. It seems to be working pretty well but we'll see how the next few weeks play out. How much do you want to bet I'll have ITBS next?