So just went you think you are ready for 2018, stuff happens…So I ended December by doing the San Diego Holiday Half.. this lovely race and yes I mean this sarcastically was basically a down hill half marathon. This was my first really down hill race as the majority of the races I do are flat or have a few up and downs. This was straight out of down hill hell!
This was a hard race, I have done halfs before but this one seemed to go on forever. It was great though as I was able to run with my best friend Angela and lots of other runner friends. Like I said I have done halfs before but then one tough. By mile 9 I was having a tough time and for the first time ever took assistance from Race Guards. By the way when you see a Race Guard at a race, say thank you they do a tremendous service for runners and they really put in the miles. Along with Angela I was joined by Shawn Gallegher a friend I have been running with since mid 2016 and has gotten me to PR so many races. Now with the best support system a runner could have we got me a cross the finish line. I could feel the hills but I figured that this was normal after running down a mountain.
A couple days later this race that my knees were not happy with me, but I was in the midst of marathon training so I just kept doing runs. Some runs I felt great, others my left knee really bothered me. But I just kept running.
2018 brought a race on New Years Eve that I was supposed to do, but I overslept and missed it. I have never done that before and was not happy with myself. So as soon as I was awake I got dressed and headed out to do the 5K I missed. As I started the run I felt good, so even though I knew better I decided to try and sub 30, even though I had not been doing sprints or even working on this because I am marathon training. What do you get when you decide to do this, a very very sore knee.
Next on my calendar was to race my third annual Resolution Run where I was signed up for a 15K. This was the original race that started my journey in 2016. The best part of this race was if you signed up for the race and used the coupon code “TeriRocks” you saved $10… I was a coupon code Yeah Me!. This Race knew my history with them and did this amazing thing. Unfortunatly I did not rock and struggled badly to finish. But as we all know, we have bad races and this was mine.
So decision was made after this race based on how bad the knee was, I was scheduling a doctors appointment, I needed to fix this before it got to the point I would not be able to move around at all. So I was preparing for the worst but hoping for the best with my new doctor. What I got was Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome or aka Runners Knee and being told I cannot run for 2 months. I also will be going to my first ever Physical Therapy. The biggest thing I learned is that I would not be doing a Marathon, that was out out of the question as I would not be able to get any of the training runs in.
Now I have had one other injury right as I got into my journey and I had an overwhelming fear that if I stopped running my weight would come back on. This time I know the benefits of cross training with swimming, biking and weights, that I know that I will be good.
So now new plan for 2018 is to be a good patient for my physical therapist and follow his/her directions to a T. Continue my cross training as I still have 2 Ragnars booked and 2 Triathlons booked that I need to get healthy for.
I am super sad that I am not going to be doing my first marathon this year, but I have been reminded that there are always marathons once I am ready. I will be there for my fellow teammates that will be doing the LA Marathon and cannot wait to support these amazing runners.
Although they will be limited in the next 2 months I will see you all at the finish line!