Gettysburg Marathon
Will I endure...
Out of Sync Right sided low back stiffness, discomfort out of sync with left side—GRR. This is not the time Marathon starts tomorrow shake out run tight, tense Action plan a must to dial down my symptoms I will not spiral I will show up—AND I will lace of my sneakers Breathe— toe the start line.
Somedays just aren’t my day—a truth that’s hard to accept and embrace.
I drove down to Gettysburg, PA on Friday— a five-hour drive for The North-South Marathon on Sunday. I can handle that drive, it won’t be a problem.
So I thought.
I stepped out of the car at our hotel and my low back, on the right side, was extremely stiff. I wasn’t able to bend over. GRR.
My mind began to race and my body tensed up even more. I haven’t had a setback like this in a while. I was annoyed and frustrated yet knew if I stayed in my head any longer it would only increase my discomfort.
I stepped into the bathroom and sat on the closed toilet seat. My mom and children were in the hotel room unpacking and settling in. I could hear my kids shout, “They have a pool, let’s go swimming!”.
I placed my arms on the tops of my thighs, a position I’ve learned to help me relax my back and focus on my breath. Breathe, focus on breathing. I repeated.
I closed my eyes and battled with “I only drove five hours, I can’t believe I’m in so much discomfort.” and “This really stinks, will I be able to run.”
To be continued…
Thank you for being here and I look forward to our write together this Friday, May 5, 2023, at 11 am (EST) on Zoom. The link is below.
So we have a mystery writing today....waiting for the "who done it" chapter with baited breath.....
I am guessing that an experienced marathoner like you told the pain to go away and you conquered the marathon or at least got to the starting line. I completely understand that feeling. It seems the day before any race I have some mysterious ailment that wasn't there until the day before the race. I think that the majority of non competitive runners, like me, have something in the back of their mind triggering that fight or flight response as race day approaches regardless of how well we trained. I remember New York and walking Friday before the race thinking why is my knee hurting so bad I am not going to be able to this. looking forward to the follow up.