It's been a while...

It's been a long 17 days since my race in Auburn that left me sore, beat up, and out of commission for the past two weeks. I'm proud to say Auburn definitely got the best of me as I'm sure it's done to several others. A few specific spots that have been bothering me: my lower right hamstring, the outside of my left knee, and the tops of my feet. Let me tell you, trying to stuff my fat feet into dress shoes for interviews is already a chore, let alone adding some swelling to the equation. Last Tuesday I tried to be brave an put in a few miles to see exactly where my legs and feet stood and needed some extra attention. On a small 4 mile run I found out quickly what was working or shall I say not working. The first mile wasn't too bad, with only a few aches in my feet and my legs feeling pretty solid. Once I hit my turn around at mile 2 things quickly became extremely prevalent that I should not be running still whatsoever. My lower right hamstring was fatigued and did not want to lift my leg. The outside of my left knee was shooting pains right into my knee cap. And to top of this 4 mile endeavour by the time I got back home, the top of my feet felt like I had nails being driven straight through them. Within 30 minutes of finishing my run my feet hurt so bad that I didn't want to even stand. Of course I went to the drawing board and did my research:

My right hamstring was simply overused and more than likely pulled or tweaked a bit. This just takes time off to heal and strengthen back up. As for my knee, this just has to do with the amount of pounding and shock your knee can absorb. Obviously, my knee took a pretty good beating. Lastly, I'm about 99% sure that I suffered minor metatarsal stress fractures on the tops of my feet. The stress fractures should leave me resting for a little while longer than I'm expected, but I'm going to test out my feet on much shorter runs in the upcoming weeks to view my recovery.

Overall, I did not write this blog to complain or receive sympathy. I did this to myself and I don't regret it one bit. This has been a great learning experience for me and is continuing on through this healing process. This just shows I have a ton of room for improvement in several areas and need to get tougher. I felt the urge to put this on paper because I'm not running and I've noticed the toll it's been taking on my mindset and attitude. Although I just moved home and have been stressed out about finding a job and having a steady income to support myself, I've found out when I don't have my "selfish alone running time", I get irritated easily. I'm starting to notice the finer things about running that allows you to be one with yourself. Being able to put your shoes on, tie your laces, and run is a luxury. Running allows you to be stress free and explore any thoughts your mind has to offer. I'm looking forward to a speedy recovery and getting back to a consistent running regimen by July 5th.

Good Luck to all the the runners running Western Sates this weekend! It's going to be a great race.

"Never eat a full meal. . . Always stay hungry" - Jesse Silva