The husband and I ran the Germantown Half Marathon this weekend. It was my second half marathon and his first (he did a full marathon a few years ago, but never a half). I had been training for it since January, and the husband ran it with not having run since October--and in his Vibram Fivefingers. He's nuts. (All you natural athletes out there make me sick, FYI).
(Terribly unflattering picture, but oh, well!)
Anyway, I was really nervous about the race because my shins have been hurting over the past week or so. But, I signed up for it, and I was determined to at least try. The first 4 miles were pretty brutal for me. My shins were aching, and most of it was uphill (not nice on the organizers' part!). Once we hit about 4.5 miles, it was smooth sailing for me. My parents came to cheer us on, and we saw them at miles 6, 8 11.5 and at the finish line. I was hoping to beat my previous time of 2:12:30, but we ended up finishing in 2:15:08. I was 57/101 for my age group. I'll take it--especially considering the pain I've been having lately. And at least I can say I'm pretty consistent, right?
The Germantown Half was completely different from Nashville: less runners, less crowds cheering you on, less hilly. But overall, the race was well-orchestrated and a lot of fun. Plus, it was nice having it close to home, so we could just drive the 10 minutes to the start line.
I'll probably take a week or so off from running, and then start training again... this time for the St. Jude Marathon in December. I figure now's as good of a time as any to try for a full.
10 comments:
Congrats girly! That's an amazing time!
Congratulations on your second half marathon! I think that's an awesome time :)
That's awesome! I don't think I could ever run a 1/2! Congrats!
Way to go! I'm just breathing heavy thinking about a 5k...so congrats on the 1/2!
Congratulations! That's a wonderful accomplishment! :)
Congrats on a great finish - kudos for pushing through with the sore shins - were they shin splints? I have suffered from awful shin splints at various times over the years, but remember when I was much younger and in much better shape (like playing soccer 7 days a week) when I could push through the pain because it was just part of what you did if you wanted to play. Nowadays, I don't know that I would have gotten out of bed if i felt like you did - would have sent the hubby out on his own probably!
I thought I was suffering from severe shin splints last year. I ended up bailing on all my races. i was so frustrated because I just couldn't shake those shin splints. Turns out it was a strained/tight soleus muscle. I massaged and iced it for about 7 days and it was cured (after struggling for 6 mo plus with this, I couldn't believe that was all it took).
It's the muscle right on the inside of the shin: http://tinyurl.com/4nxwq5z
Massaging it using the "stripping" technique worked really well for me, and I have to remember to stretch it before, during and after runs.
Massage: http://tinyurl.com/4fhw4lf
Stretch: http://tinyurl.com/4nxwq5z
sorry for the crazy long comment!
Congratulations!
And I've struggled with shin pain as well. I wear these Zensa compression sleeves that were recommended to me by a running shop in LR and they are miracle workers. You are welcome to borrow them to try out!
Oh, and I second McV - get that soleus checked out if you can't shake the pain. I had a tiny tear in my soleus that gave me fits for 6 months before we figured it out!
Girl, you did so great! I do agree to give your shins a break, but I bet you will be good to go for the St. Jude! :)
Post a Comment