Ole Man River

New Compression socks and Infinity Shrug Jacket

        The Ole' Man River is a half marathon, but I was scheduled to complete 16 miles for my marathon training, so I decided to do 2 miles before the race and do a 1 mile slow jog after the race. I was nervous about this race because it was only 6 days after I had run the Women's Half Marathon, but I figured running a race would ensure that I ran all 16 miles.
          I ran from my house to the start of the race which is a little over a mile. When I got the race I thanked my lucky stars that I always run races with cash, credit card and my drivers license in case of an emergency. I thought I had registered for the race, but clearly I only put it on my schedule and didn't pay for it. LOL oops...
         While I waited for the race to start I decided to run another mile. I ended up running 2.4 miles before the race started. I knew that if I didn't get the miles in before my run, it was a very slim chance that I would get them in after my run.
       This was the saddest race I have ever run. The first 10 miles of running were good. I bought compression socks earlier in the week to help with the soreness in my calves and I felt a drastic improvement. I didn't have to stop to walk. I kept a fairly steady pace and just felt overall good. Once I reached mile 11 (mile 8 or so of the race), it all came crashing down. My left knee started to hurt.  Even the littlest pressure on it hurt like hell. I tried to walk on it and the pain just wouldn't go away.  I continued and kept trying to go, but the pain was causing me to cry at this point. I had to stop and seek assistance from the medic. I got an ice pack and sat and iced it for a few minutes. Once I started back it felt really good for about a quarter mile. Then the pain started again. I knew I probably should have stopped and taken a DNF, but I was being hard headed and determined to finish. I ended up walking the last four miles of the race, crying most of the time.
         I was in pain, sad and angry. I was angry because I have been training for this for what seems like forever and I was doing so well and was really excited that I was going to finish at a good pace for me. And I lost it because my body wouldn't keep up.  I was sad because its never a good feeling to know you wont achieve your goal no matter how hard you try.

          I ended up finishing the race actual race at 2:54:12, a 13:13 minute pace. My entire 16 mile run was 3:21:04, a 12:45 pace. I crossed the finish line in tears. I immediately went to the medic truck where they iced and wrapped my knee. I know I should be excited that I finished 16 miles and I am. Its the longest distance I have run, but in the back of my mind is a fear of, "What if I really injured my knee and couldn't run the marathon in January?" and "What was I doing wrong that I got hurt... again?"

It was supposed to make me feel better

          I spent the entire day icing, soaking and tending to my knee. While it feels a lot better today than it did at the race, I am still being extra cautious. I am confident that I have not serious damage to my knee as it is not swollen, but staying on it for too long or too much walking exacerbates the pain. I was going to go the doctor and get it checked out, but unfortunately my insurance ran out in August. :-( I have been using RICE (rest, ice, compress and elevate). I also got a massage to relieve some of the soreness and pain. I feel like a loser for doing this but I also went and got crutches. I just want to take as much pressure off my leg as possible, especially since I leave for my cruise Thursday and need to be able to walk (and dance). LOL

RICE

          I hope that if I keep tending to my knee I will be able to do slow jogs by next week. I don't know what I will do if I can't. I can't even think about it.

What is your worst race experience? How did you get past it? Any advice to rehab my knee?