10 weeks until race day

When I signed up for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon I envisioned myself training for six months and then running the entire thing without stopping to meet an impressive time goal.

That idea has passed and it has set in that I am facing a new reality. With a knee injury that kept me from running for 2 months and then a foot injury delaying my training another month, I am extremely off track. Now that I have my knee and foot better, my shin is acting up from starting to dive into training too quickly, which has yet again left me with my running shoes on the floor and my feet up on the couch.

I’m not the kind of person that handles setbacks or delays incredibly well. When I have a plan I expect to follow the plan to the t and meet my every goal. Now, 10 weeks before my half marathon it’s time to realize that it’s too late for that plan and accept my reality. The good news is that my friend that I am running the race with is fully supportive of the new plan, which involves just enjoying the race, taking it slow, and running and walking as we feel like it.

And you know what, I think it’s actually for the best. I want my first half to be for the experience so next time I know when it gets hard, I know how far I can push myself, and I know what to expect from myself and the beast of 13.1 miles. So maybe I won’t have my grand finish and my time won’t be anything to write home (or here) about, but it’s still going to be a blast. So instead of stressing about being months behind on my training plan, I’m going to start from zero and see how far I get before the race. And I’m not going to stress about what I do or don’t do along the way.