I had mostly recovered from this disgusting crud bestowed upon me by my second-born, and I lined up a sitter for Sunday, so I could go on a nice, long run (11 miles). I had everything ready, took off, and was feeling pretty good, when I came upon my first nemesis...Jadito hill, a 140-foot climb over .40 miles, the bulk of which occurs over about .20 miles. This hill happens early in my run, and most days, I end up walking the steepest part. It serves as a nice warm-up for the next big hill, a 100-foot climb in less than .10! So, I'm feeling good, and I get to Jadito hill, and I am able to keep running, and I make it all the way to the top! And I feel proud. And I feel a little pain in my IT band area. So, I take it easy up the next big climb, and it hurts a little more. The next big climb on my loop is 190-foot climb over .85 miles, and about .7 miles in, my knee begins to hurt so badly, I have to walk. I try slowing my cadence, speeding my cadence, shortening my stride, lengthening my stride (DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMENDED), running on my toes, striking mid-foot, heel-striking, and nothing, nothing took away the knife-stabbing-under-my-kneecap pain like walking did. So that's what I did, about 4 miles into my run...I walked home. I did a total of 5.3 of my 11 miles. And I felt defeated, and scared. I have a half-marathon to run in 4 weeks, after I ride 56 miles!!!
To make matters worse, I had my first swim lesson last night. I showed up a little early to warm up, but my coach arrived 15 minutes late, so I swam 18 laps. She had me work on my stroke a bit and do some kick and speed work, which made my knee scream at me. So, again, I felt a little defeated. And scared. I have put so much time and money into this race already, I just can't imagine not being able to finish.
In the battle against Jadito, I won. I hope I didn't lose the war.
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