This is going to be long-ish. Bare with me.
Back in 2010 I began and completed the Couch to 5K program. I felt so empowered - running more at one time than I had since high school. After that program, a friend and I registered for the
Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race. The race, which takes place each year in Pittsburgh, consists of a 5K and a 10K. The 5K is an excellent choice for a first race because the course is almost completely downhill. There are approximately 15,000 participants, so it is a really exciting race, especially if you find big crowds to be motivating.
As we got closer to the day of the race, my friend discovered that she was pregnant. They had been trying for a while, and she was really excited. I was happy for her as well, but her morning sickness was extremely debilitating, and she was no longer able to train for our upcoming event.
With days left until the 5K, I began to doubt myself. I was afraid. Would I fail? Would I be the slowest person there? I contemplated just not going, but realized that I would regret it forever if I did.
My daughter and I on the morning of the Great Race, 2010
After finishing the race, I knew that I wanted to keep going. I registered for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, which would be held the following May. One of the local running stores holds a training program for the marathon each year, and I signed up.
The first group run was held in late January of 2011. It had just snowed and there was about 6 inches of snow on the trail. I was the slowest person. I was struggling. Having never run in snow or really uneven surfaces of any kind, I wanted to die. But my stubbornness forced me to continue. I began feeling some terrible pain in my right leg. When I got home that day, I got into the shower to warm up and felt a sharp stabbing pain - down in the back of my heel/ankle. I had never felt anything like it. I eventually had to go to the ER to have it checked and, long story short, learned that I had torn my achilles tendon.
Almost a year later, I still was not completely healed. I was sad. I gained weight. I felt helpless.
Fast-forward to May of 2012. I graduated from school and began Substitute teaching. My schedule was finally free for me to start exercising again. My heel was healed, I think :).
While babysitting for a friend, I decided to take a walk with the baby down on one of the river trails. I had him wrapped in one of those Moby wraps in front of me. About 4 blocks from the house, I accidentally stepped into a pot hole and twisted my ankle. I heard a crack, but figured I just sprained it. When it was still huge and purple and painful that night, I decided to get it X-rayed . . . broken fibula.
WTF.
Needless to say, I was pissed. I felt like every time I began to make headway with my weight loss and fitness goals, a ran into a really effing big road block. I was in a boot for 6 more weeks.
This brings us to today. My foot is out of the boot, and it is starting to feel like a normal leg again. My first instinct is to get out there and start running right away. I want to be where I was. I want to erase these last two years and pick up where I left off in September of 2010.
But I know I can't.
I know that I need to take it slow. I can't just start running right away, and even if I do - I know I will only fail.
So I have enlisted the help of one Mr. Jeff Galloway. His book on 5 and 10K running has a conditioning program where you start running 15 seconds and walking 45. I am going to try really hard to stick with this and build up my endurance again - listening CAREFULLY to my body.
My goal is to complete a 5K at the end of August. If I can't run it all - so be it. I just want to do it.
How do you overcome obstacles when you are completely discouraged and depressed?
