I participated in the St. Paul Run or Dye 5K, and it was COLD! A brisk 47 degrees with 10 mph wind from the north, gusting to 13 mph, made a chilly morning! The race started at 9am and they sent waves every five minutes after that until 11am. It wasn't a timed race, and they had several "dye stations," where they threw powdered dye at the runners/walkers as they passed through. The dye is supposed to be non-toxic, environmentally friendly, naturally derived, and all that stuff (which it would have to be here in MN - we wouldn't put up with anything less Earth-friendly!). I sure hope it lives up to that non-toxic reputation because I definitely ate some of it...
(To be fair, I was laughing and they threw it at my face.)
Anyway, I said "mostly" up at the top there because I did not actually complete the entire 5k.
*huge audience gasp*
I got maybe a quarter of a mile into the race (walking) and I hit a wall; I VERY suddenly started to suffer from intense pain in my shins. I have never really done any competitive high-impact exercising-type stuff (no sports or anything, we couldn't afford it growing up) so I had no idea what was going on, but it HURT LIKE A MOFO!
(Ow ow ow ow ow.)
Thankfully, my good friend Jess and her husband Brian wanted to do the race with me, and Brian is a workout-a-holic, so he knew exactly what was happening and what I could do about it. He said it sounded like shin splints, and the only thing I could really do about it was stop and ice it when I get home. I, being the textbook Taurus that I am, stubbornly kept going for probably another three quarters of a mile before I told Jess and Brian I had to turn around or they would have to carry me back. I was trying to keep up a conversation with Jess but I was DYING inside of pain. I tried so hard to overcome it and, in doing so, I think I made it worse. The path was a mile and half SW and then turned directly around and went back the other way. There was a tiny grassy space between the two paths so we literally just walked over it and joined the group of people going the other way. One of the runners teased us that we were missing one of the dye stations and I barely was able to make out a semi-smile at her as I held in the tears that were threatening to spill down my cheeks. I wanted to stop, but I had to get back, and I wanted to finish this damn race, even if I had to cheat and cut off what we figured was about a mile or so. Brian joked that it turned into a 3K rather than a 5K, and I think I gave him the same smile.
(Uffda.)
Brian jogged ahead and wrapped around us a couple times, and Jess was so tired that she was happy to walk next to me. They were both extremely understanding and I was so angry at my body for throwing me this awful curveball. Of all the things that could have gone horribly wrong, this was NOT the one I expected.
Although my tarot the other day said to "expect the unexpected." Maybe I should have taken it more seriously...
Once upon a time, back when Steph was a sophomore in high school, she fell down the bus stairs and sprained both ankles. This happened on her way into the school and she, instead of going to the nurse and getting medical care, hobbled to her classes and tried to "walk it off." She ended up twisting and spraining her ankles a lot more over the next few years due to not getting medical care when she should have.
Fast-forward to today, and I spent most of my early days of C25K suffering from ankle pain because they were so weak. They have since strengthened (yay!) but I expected to have some pain in them since it was a different surface I was walking/jogging on. Other things I expected to go wrong: stomach pain, vertigo, rolling an ankle, fainting, low blood sugar, trouble breathing, running out of energy, things like that. Since I've never had shin splints, I never expected them. And, I have to reiterate, THEY HURT LIKE A MOFO. If you've never had them, basically it's your shin muscles and all the tissues surrounding them cramping up and getting all inflamed and stuff. I couldn't hardly walk, and I certainly couldn't jog. All that training, all that time working up to this goal, and I was faced with failure at the 1/4 mile marker. That's why I kept going. Because I was going to do as much of this as I could physically stand. There was no way in heck I was giving up at the 1/4 mile marker!!!
I'm still calling it a success, because I was struggling against bigger odds than I ever had before, and I think we got about 2 miles in there (out of 3.1). We hit four dye stations (out of six) and I looked CRAZY when we were done. It was still a bit of a letdown, even when I crossed the finish line, because the rest of my muscles that are used to being worked were warm and ready to get a good workout, but never did because I couldn't hardly walk! This is kinda gross, but it's like this....
(Poor dude.)
But darn it, I crossed that finish line, and I did everything I could to make it happen anyway. I am and have always been extremely determined and tenacious, especially against hard odds, and I wasn't about to let myself down. So, like I said, I'm calling it a success. I am proud of myself for the effort I have continuously put into achieving this goal since January 1st and I am so thankful for the support from my friends and family that has helped to fuel that fire.
Sadly, with shin splints, I have to take it easy for awhile. I'm supposed to take pain killers, ice them, and call my doc if they don't get better. They are certainly very sore still today, but much better than they were yesterday (I spent a lot of time resting them and icing them so I'm sure that helped). I popped over to the Mayo Clinic website and discovered that the culprits for my sudden shin splints were likely three-fold: a harder surface than I was used to running/walking on, colder temps (30 degree difference is a big difference!), and the most surprising factor is that I have unusually high arches. I actually have high arches AND wide feet, so I have a heck of a time finding shoes...
(Pretty much, yes.)
People are asking me what I'm going to do next. The Mayo Clinic website (here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shin-splints/basics/definition/con-20023428) tells me I need to take it easy and try some low-impact exercises for awhile. I wanted to take up Zumba for the calorie-burning awesomeness and the total-body workout (plus it looks really fun!) but I'll have to take it easy for a couple weeks. I am a pretty bad swimmer, though, so I'm thinking of hitting the pool for a bit, too. Either way, I'm keeping active. :)
And, for your continued enjoyment, here are some pics from the event:
(Please excuse the crazy hair - I lost my bobby pin somewhere along the trail.)
Congrats. Just getting up and being motivated to do something is a huge task. I commend you. rest up, keep training and you will finish a 5k. Keep the Faith
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