I woke up at 4 a.m. (yuck) in order to get there early for good parking and registration. The first thing I noticed was my chest was STILL hurting. It isn't enough to keep me from my daily activities, but it is definitely there. The last few days I have taken some Ibuprofen and it has really helped- the pain goes almost completely away. I know I could have popped 600mg of Ibuprofen and run with no problem.
But then I heard my son's voice from last night, "Mom, I hope your heart is ok for your race."* He is so sweet. I suddenly realized that I needed to stay healthy... not just for me, but even more for those amazing kids. What if running a race made my pain get worse (like it did on Tuesday)? What if, God forbid, running causes something really bad to happen-- I still don't even know what is wrong (I know that I am being a bit dramatic here). I remembered my training and articles I have read, that said how dangerous it is to run after taking Ibuprofen.**
Then I tried to think about what I would say to someone who I was coaching. If a friend called, described these symptoms and asked if she should run this race, what would I say. I know that I would say,
"It just isn't worth it. You have taken three days off running and it hasn't improved much. If you run, it is likely you will lose another week. Running after taking 2 or 3 Ibuprofen is just not worth the risk of kidney damage or even failure. Plus, masking pain is not what you want to do... you won't know if your injury is getting worse."So I e-mailed and texted my friends and wished them good luck. Since I was up, I thought about going with them and cheering them on. But I know myself. I was SO close to running ("just take it easy"*** I told myself) that I knew that if I got down there, I would do it. I would justify, like I was all day yesterday. It wasn't worth testing my weak resolve.
So I am sad. I didn't think I would be. But I am. It is just a silly 15K. My big race in in six weeks. Right now, my chest feels a bit better, so it makes it that much more difficult. I'm sure I'll feel fine as I celebrate the holiday with my kids.
My whine fest is now over.
*My pain is not my heart, but it is in that part of my body.
**http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-286-289-13116-0,00.html
***I am not sure how well I would do "taking it easy" during a race. Heck I couldn't hold back in a marathon, why would I think I would hold back in a 15k?
14 comments:
I'm sorry to hear that this has you feeling a little down, but I really think you made the right choice. It is always so much easier to tell a friend what's best for them than it is to do what's best for you, but the choice you made can only make things better! Just remember that the choice you made today is what will help you to have many, many amazing races in the future :)
I am glad you took it easy and decided not to run, but know you were missed by your running students :)
Looking forward to next weeks run.
You are so smart to listen to the "Smart Voice!" I wish I had about a month ago when my foot started hurting...and I kept running on it anyway, and now I haven't been able to run for two weeks...GAH!
What really sucks is getting older and not recovering as quickly as we used to...I find that recovery, even from something as simple as a little muscle overuse, takes me a couple days, whereas when I was younger a good nights rest was enough. I suspect you pulled a muscle in your chest (cuz we runners don't really use those chest muscles much do we) and it's just gonna take a couple more days to get back to normal.
How 'bout that bike? I find that bike riding has saved my sanity. Let me know if you want to go for a ride this week. We could meet up somewhere. I might even be able to keep up with you on a bike!
I'm really sorry you couldn't run in the race this morning! But sometimes being smart sucks and is the right thing to so!!! We get a bit wiser as we get older!!! It's always hard to follow your own advice-I'm glad you did!!
Being smart does suck, but know what sucks worse? Being sidelined for an extended period of time because you were dumb and decided to run through an injury ;) Been there, done that!
I know you must be bummed, but you really did make the right decision, Lisa. There will be other races, and it was best not to jeopardize those races just to run this one. I hope your chest gets better soon!
I almost made the joke "Your chest looks fine to me," but not knowing you personally, only through blogging, I didn't and won't! OK, so I kinda did!! Anyhow, you definitely made the right decision. As everyone said, not listening to your gut feeling only makes it worse. Like some of the others, been there, done it also by ignoring injuries.
P.S. FYI, I now have male followers and comments on my blog!!
I'm sorry you missed your race, but I definitely think you made the right decision.
It was a very smart decision. There is no use in making matters worse.
Sorry you missed the race. We were there, but ran the 5k. If there is any consolation, parking was not great. We parked more than a mile away from Tidelands park. :)
Be well!
Good job applying the "coach" voice and listening to yourself. I know it's hard. BTW - that's super smart to ask yourself what you would say to a client... that's a genius way of checking in with yourself.
I hope you get feeling better soon though. Are you going to a doc or something?
Well done you! I can imagine it was really hard to make that decision, but you did it!
Momshomerun
So sorry you missed out, but I agree with everyone (and you) that it was not worth the risk of causing further injury to your body! I hope you get the problem sorted out soon. In the meantime, I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend, and thanks for the nice comment on my blog! :)
Go to a cardiologist. Just to have any doubts erased. Came across your blog and I am really enjoying it.
I know that was tough but that was definitely the smart move. Hope you are feeling better soon!
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