Day 59 - Affirmation

Today's run was an affirmation. An affirmation of all the hardwork and dedication I've put towards this marathon. It wasn't my best-feeling run by a long shot, but I did it! I decided to "sleep in" and not run until closer to the marathon start time (7:30am). I haven't run that late in a long while, and I wanted to see how I felt at that time. I got decent sleep last night, thanks to 600mg ibuprofen and a cold/allergy pill. The achiness in my throat/neck and chest was gone! My right leg felt good! I took a couple puffs on my inhaler just to help open my lungs more. I was a bit underdressed for the weather (I'm such a bad judge), but warmed up pretty quickly. As we started out I noticed the pain in my right leg was significantly less. I didn't even have to do the silly gimp-run-short-step maneuver I'd been having to do for the first 5-10 minutes of the past 2 weeks' runs!! I'd rate my pain at about a 4/10. My lungs were not too happy to be out there today and let me know about if for the first 3 miles. I almost felt like a beginning runner. So out of breath, that I wanted to puke! Not a great feeling. But I pushed past it, got the gunk out of my lungs and went on with the run. I noticed Every.Single.Incline. Minor or major incline, my lack of oxygen was evident in my leg muscles and lungs! Still, I trudged on. Somewhere around 5 miles I realized my right leg didn't hurt AT ALL. I had to think about the pain to even get it to register at a 1/10! Thank you GOD! What did start bothering me however, was that pesky neuroma pain in my right toes. I took a few short walk breaks through intersections and that was enough for the pain to dissipate some. I didn't even notice it the last mile or so!

Clearly this wasn't a great run, but I perservered and pushed through it. Something I didn't do during the AF Half. I remembered why I set out on this adventure and how much it truly means to me. My positive attitude is back. I have a sense of renewed strength and determination. I will NOT let thoughts of me (or the kids) getting sick ruin my pre-race week. And with that said, I will eat, hydrate and rest for the coming week. 8 more days baby!!

PS - I decided rain or shine on Marathon Day, I needed to get a couple more pairs of my favorite running socks. Retail therapy can go a long way for a girl's attitude too!!