No One Mile Races for Me!

If I were an active Twitter person in real life, today's post would go something like this:

Anne is NOT participating in the TC One Mile race this evening.

One year ago tonight I WAS indeed running the TC One Mile. I look back on the evening with much ambivalence. On the positive side, I ran my little heart out and finished in 7 minutes and 39 seconds. That was the first and probably last time I've ever run such a zippy mile. OK, so it's not all that zippy, but for me it was a big deal. This running hobby of mine is simply that. I have not one iota of natural ability or speed. The only reason I've had any "success" (success being defined as setting some meager goals and achieving them) at this game is because I've put in the time and effort. Also on the positive side, I ended up getting a guaranteed entry for the Twin Cities 10 Mile (which I had tried twice to get a spot in and failed). And, after I finished running, I got to hang out on Nicollet Mall with my husband and a group of his co-workers and enjoy a celebratory Tom Collins.

Now, for the negative side. It was the week following this event that I started having nagging pain in my left shin. It was just annoying at first, but by the end of the week I was hating running (not normal for me). Soon after that, I couldn't even complete a workout. Crazy thing, a stress fracture is. I'd feel fine during normal activity. Then, once I'd start running (as in, immediately).... EEEOWWWWZA. I kept thinking I'd magically healed, until I'd start off running again. I gave it a couple of weeks to work itself out, but to no avail. Ultimately I found myself in the office of a sports medicine physician. I kind of knew what he was going to say, but once he uttered "stress fracture," my heart sank.

"Two weeks, no running," he says. The wheels in my mind are turning. I was signed up for two half marathons in June. "So," I say, "No Minneapolis half marathon, huh."

"Nope," he replies.

The wheels continue to turn. Grandma's was three or four weeks off. "What about Grandma's??" I ask.

"You can try, but I don't recommend it. Once you start running again, you'll need to re-enter gradually."

Aaaauuugh! Utter despair. I love running. I love summer. I love getting up early in the summer to go run with just shorts and a t-shirt. Too bad for me. How many times can a heart sink in one little ol' doctor's appointment?

So, I leave. Call my husband and tearfully pass on the crappy news.

To make a long story just slightly less long... I ended up being outta the game for pretty much the whole dang summer.

Let me just tell you, there are few things more pathetic than a runner who is unable to run. I would guess it's like a smoker trying to give up cigarettes. I was stressed, cranky, irritable... just straight up bitchy (more so than usual, which is saying a LOT). Throw a whole lotta family stress into that mix and you end up with one fabulously craptastic summer.

Did the TC One Mile cause my stress fracture? I don't know, but I'm not going to try it again to find out. I'm blogging while Chris is downtown (and probably just finishing). Call me scared, call me weak, call me a chicken... I soooo don't care. I'm too old for this sh**!