Hello, and happy Marathon Monday!
This is my friend, Kristen, with her parents. She had her final chemotherapy treatment at MD Anderson last week - praising God for the progress she has made, and praying for her continued health journey!! ❤
On this "holy week" leading up to Easter, that is sooo worth celebrating! I also wanted to start this post off by reminding myself of truth and of the major themes in life - that our God is at work bringing life and hope and healing - that His power and goodness are what sustain us, and He is with us and for us, working all things together for our good and His glory! ❤
Okay. Less than two weeks to go till race day...
And all is not exactly well. My game plan was to conquer 20 miles on Sunday... look at me all fresh and ready to go the distance. That plan was thwarted by a random (and hopefully minor) injury to the top of my left foot.
The pain started Saturday on our way back to the car at the outlet mall...
Walking by some lovely, well-placed outdoor couches and chairs...
Me: There's no rush - we can sit down here for a minute if you need to.
Mom: Oh, I'm okay.
Me: Yeah... welllll, I need to sit down! lol
I wore some cute Sketchers sandals I hadn't worn in a while... they fit me well last year, but I had to hold my foot in just a slightly strange way to keep them on right this year. Anyway, the top of my left foot was suddenly in pain Saturday night... and I said out loud, "The last thing I need is a foot injury right now!"
After a mini-break, our car wasn't far, then I drove home and changed into flip flops and figured all was well. Sunday afternoon, I did my dynamic warm-ups and got everything prepared (body glide, sunscreen, energy chews, fresh shoes/socks, etc.) to do my final long training run at Central Park Sunday afternoon. And 5.5 miles into it, that same foot pain started up. I slowed down a bit, changed my socks and shoes, and tried to mentally push through it. "Pain does not exist in this dojo. Fear does not exist in this dojo." lol
Shocking, I know, but that delightful mantra didn't solve anything. lol I made it two more miles at the slowest. jogging. pace. ever with two more sitting breaks thrown in, and by then it was off-and-on shooting pains from the top of my foot through my left shin, and I knew finishing was out of the question... so I hobbled back to my car and called it quits for the day. (Not sure how to describe it - to wiggle my toes or flex or point my left foot is painful, and there's intermittent pain on the top center of my left foot with regular walking. LAME.) I called Chettles and Mom feeling very frustrated, concerned, sad, and irritated... it helped to breathe and talk through that a bit. On almost any other day, I would feel pretty proud of 7.5 miles, but I really wanted to finish 20 one more time, and more than that, I want to be strong enough to finish the Full in 13 days (without causing myself any lasting damage).Anyway, I came home and took some Advil, hobble-walked the big trash can down to the curb, blogged for a bit, then took it suuuper easy, elevating/massaging and icing/heating my foot while watching Brittany Runs a Marathon (something I thought of during those last 2 miles at The Station, an inspiring movie where the lead character gets injured fairly last minute after a long span of intense training, then ends up having to do a different race than the original one she had signed up for). Cried my way through the ending of that again - it's so well done! I'm sincerely hoping the injury and postponing things is not my story here, but I need to be extra careful over the next two weeks. I will say the movie was a reminder to me that I am determined to complete a marathon no matter what - I'd highly prefer two weeks from now to November! Please join me in praying that this is a very short-lived injury and that all will be well by race day so I can finish strong and healthy - that is still the goal and plan!! Obviously, time will tell (and either way, God will be good and kind, and I will be proud of the effort I've put into all this). Resting easy for now, and I may try a shorter walk on Wednesday or Thursday.
Okay - thanks for listening and for praying with/for me.
To lighten the mood a bit, here are some Monday Memes - enjoy! =)
Women's magazines and/or my own brain...
Hope you have a fantastic Easter week ahead, friends and fam, and that God continues to bring new life and hope and healing wherever we (individually and collectively) need it!!
❤ ❤ ❤
