As much as I rave about the Shamrock Half Marathon, there’s one aspect to it that I truly dislike – Shore Drive.
The unevenness of the road for a few miles is something I’ve noticed before, and this year I really noticed it. I ran the high side of the road the best I could so I could get to the flattest part, but it was still rough.
Every year I am relieved to turn back onto Atlantic Avenue and head south for the second half of the race to a more even surface. This year, though, I noticed this nagging feeling near my left knee cap with about 5 miles to go.
I’ve probably felt that in this race before, but since it had been two years since my last Shamrock, any weird feelings are easily forgotten about. Even the year in which I got hurt during the race is a distant memory.
Last week I stayed away from running quite a bit – the roads really took a beating on me and I needed some time off. A short run the day after Shamrock felt fine; a few days later I felt that nagging feeling after a couple of miles. I didn’t mention it in my post the other day because I needed to give it some time.
Today, on a run just under 4 miles, I felt it slightly at the end.
Pain or discomfort is not easy to discuss or write about – of course in my mind I want to blow it off, but there are also the questions as to whether or not this an injury or if it’s post-race soreness due to Shore Drive or maybe even a combination of the two.
It’s not of great concern yet – in the past, a pain like this has come and gone in a few days with rest and ice. I have already done that will continue to do that over the next week. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say it’s a 3.
While I have races on the horizon, I know that a second straight low mileage week won’t set me back too much. The downtime after my highest mileage first quarter ever isn’t necessarily a bad thing anyway.
It gives me a chance to do other things, like dust off my bike like I did yesterday. …
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Shhh. If we don't talk about it too much it will go away. The rest, ice and bike ar egood ideas too.
Last time I didn't talk about it, it turned serious. This is more of a nuisance feel right now though more than anything. Plus I'm sore from my short bike ride yesterday. All in all, I'm just pretty cranky today.
Coco, You're terrible
I think it's more fair to David and his readers for him to write about it.