To Run or Not to Run

Well, that is the question, isn't it?

Last week was a great week of running.  I ran for 52 miles total and during/after each run I felt strong and confident.  I was hitting the right paces on the faster runs and the easy runs felt east.  My long run on Sunday was a little under pace but I finished the 16 miles feeling like I had really accomplished something.

This week, however, hasn't been as great.  Tuesday, I went out to do some interval work at marathon pace and noticed that my left shin was hurting.  The pain was causing me to limp slightly so I made the decision to skip the run, thinking that maybe I'd try again the next day.  When I got up Wednesday the sharp pain was no longer there but it was feeling a bit tender so I went ahead with the planned rest day.  I ended up doing quite a bit of walking so I didn't feel too bad about skipping the speedwork for the week.

Thursday I did a 7 miler that was OK.  It wasn't a great run but it also wasn't a bad run.  My shin was feeling OK during and after the run; however, when I went down to the gym in the afternoon if started to hurt sharply again.  Uh oh!

So, what do I do?  I decided to get a good night's sleep and see how I felt in the morning.

Today, Friday, I planned to run to work.  Saturday is to be a rest day.  Sunday I have signed up for a 10K in order to judge my current fitness and see if a sub-4 marathon is in sight.  On the one hand, Sunday's race is important from a mental aspect.  It'll be a tremendous boost to run a great time for the 10K and know that my speed is there for the sub-4 attempt in a few months.  However, this isn't a goal race so I am a little nervous about taking another day off during the training cycle.

I woke up convinced I was going to run.  By the time I made it downstairs, I had decided not to run.  I think I'm being smart about a small injury so that it doesn't turn in to a larger injury but that doesn't keep the doubts at bay - What am I doing?  Who do I think I am attempting to run sub-4?  I'm not a fast runner!  Why is a sub-4 time so important?  I'm just not made for running fast.  I should just run Charleston for fun - slow and fun.  I can't do this so why try?

It is hard no to lose sight of the big picture (I was running strong going in to this marathon training cycle, I've been running strong up until now.  One bad week, a few missed runs - not that big a deal) when the immediate view feels so all encompassing (oh my god, I'm injured, when will I ever be able to run again.  Probably never.  Why is this happening to me?).  However, one missed run, one very mild case of shin splints isn't going to make or break me as a runner so I might as well enjoy the extra rest and start focusing on Sunday's PR attempt at the 10K.

Confidence and strength, not fear, that's the lesson I want to learn during this training cycle.