Pasadena Pain

I'm in to rhyme apparently.

I've been in California this past week on a sort of Business/Pleasure trip so it has made it difficult to keep to my running schedule (4-5 days a week). Additionally, having been extremely busy before I left has really sort of thrown off my training. It would not be so bad if I wasn't prematurely training for a half-marathon (Brooklyn) while easing into my marathon training.

I say prematurely because I had been off a regular running routine and was just getting back into a regular running schedule when my girlfriend and I decided to sign up for the Brooklyn Half Marathon. We debated whether or not it was too early, and after a brief motivational call with a running girl I know, decided why not.

So last week, I ran 10 miles as my long run. We had done a 7 mile run the week before which turned into an 8 mile for lack of planning. So, in a way, the progression was okay. The 10 miler was good. Girlfriend was sick so I ran the first 6 miles by myself and she joined me for the last 4 which was an amazing energy booster. Well, she and the gel I had when I picked her up. So that went okay, and I felt good about heading towards this half-marathon.

So this week I am out at my brother's house in Pasadena. I've been eating poorly, sleeping poorly and not quite staying on schedule. I decided I was going to do my 9 mile long run on Saturday at about 4pm, despite having been out the night before, despite preferring to run in the mornings, despite the high heat.

I started out slow, something that is sometimes difficult, but since I don't do any pre-run stretching it's very important. Early into my run my brother passed me in the van and told me my 6 year old nephew wanted me to come see him skate at a nearby park that was along my route. I found I was feeling discomfort in my knees pretty early in the run. My knees have been pretty good lately. But last year was a different story.

Last year as my girlfriend and I began easing our way towards our first Marathon, the 2009 NYC Marathon, and decided we would take a stab at the half marathon and ran the Queens half in September of last year. As we ramped up our mileage for that race, I ended up injuring my knee. An injury that we later decided was my IT band. A common running injury from not stretching enough and adding too many miles too fast.

So as I am beginning my 9 miles, these fears start to arrive, that I am not going to finish, that I will have to take time off again, that this half is too soon, and I am adding mileage too fast. I don't want that feeling I had last year. The feeling that I've blown a tire, that I can barely walk let alone run. So while I am feeling this pain in the same knee (right) I get a different pain in my left knee, I try to float my legs, try not to let them hit too hard. The pain floats in and out.

At two miles I stopped to see my brother and my nephew at the skate park. I take this time to stretch, I am already worried I won't be able to finish. I begin to negotiate with myself, 'why not make this a 4 mile run, and do the 9 tomorrow?' 'No, we can do this, tomorrow has no guarantees.' I get back on the road, I am glad that I have told people I will be back around 6, I am glad that my brother knows the basic route I am taking. I am hopeful that none of that will matter. That I will finish my run running, not limping.

It's about 3 miles to the Rose Bowl, which I've never been to, then 3 miles around and a little more than 3 miles back. As I get towards the Rose Bowl, I get a little confused from the map I had in my head. The confusion doesn't help, but I push through. The voices are there, 'if you feel pain, stop', 'don;t push too hard', 'time to walk'. But I can't stop, I keep going. The pain continues to cycle in and out.

Around mile 6 I am trying to figure out why the run is so hard. I don't have a lot of push, I am trying to keep up with my run, not control it. A little later I realize that while I have been sipping water at every mile, I never ate a gel, I don't have a gel, I am not prepared for this run. It's a hard run but it looks like I might make it.

It's over an hour later and I see that my brother and nephew are still at the park. I run up but I still have a run to finish and I feel like if I stop it will be over, my knee will give up, the van will carry me home. I see they are packing up, and I get back on the road, with no real stop, just some running in place. I have about a mile left and I see my brother has pulled over. He tells me that my nephew wants to skate home with me. And while I have to be conscious of him as I run and he skates along a busy street, have to keep a pace that is neither faster or slower than him, I am thankful for the company, I am glad for the distraction. And the pain fades away.

After the run I don't feel as sore, I stretch, and I think 'I am going to make it.'

I am going to make Brooklyn and I am going to make NYC.

I am going to finish my first marathon.