Last month, I ran Race 13.1 Roanoke from winning a race entry from #RunChat. I could have played it safe by running the 5K or 10K, but I decided to be ambitious and try to run the half marathon. My 6-week training went better than expected, I had been running since January so I had my base miles in.
Early on Friday morning we drove down to Virginia from Michigan. We made it to packet pickup with some time to spare. Afterwards we checked into the hotel and brought dinner back. I laid out everything for my race in the morning as I usually do.
The morning of the race was good, I woke up and got ready. I ate breakfast then headed to the race. I was not going for PR just wanted to finish in the time limit. With the course elevations I used the treadmills for a couple runs with high inclines. Most of my runs were outside to prepare for the heat. The half marathoners got to go first and we did a quick loop and I got to high five some spectators before going on the rest of the course. The course was beautiful, a ton of greenery and great scenic views of the mountains. The first 9 miles weren’t too bad, I was going at a good steady pace. Around mile 10 or 11 the pin in my foot was killing me. I tried a run/walk but my foot kept hurting more. I was forced to a walk the rest of the race. When I ran the Marine Marathon last year the pin didn’t give me any issues. Sometimes I have issues with it, sometimes I don’t. I was slightly irritated with other runners saying try to run to the end. I finally saw the finish line and I did a short jog and finished in the time limit. My fiancé made a video of me crossing the finish line. They had pizza and drinks for finishers. I was in so much pain we decided to just walk back to the hotel. Once we made it back to the hotel I showered and crashed for a nap. When I finally woke up we went to get dinner. I really wasn’t super hungry after the race, just annoyed my foot gave me issues.
When I broke my foot years ago, my orthopedic surgeon put a pin to stabilize my broken bone. It was a Jones fracture. After being on crutches and it finally healed up he told me I could get the pin out but I would be on crutches for a few months. I’ve been back and forth about getting it taken out. I have the sick leave time, I just need to figure out when I should get it done. I know it would probably get rid of a lot of the foot pain I deal with during races, but the pin does lower the probability of breaking the bone again. My fiancé may need back surgery in the fall so foot surgery is not a high priority right now. I have lots of planning for our wedding next year and will finish the rest of my races this year. Here's the photo of the pin in my foot again, I put it in a blog post a while ago too.
With the short amount of training I had, I finished my third half marathon and it was slower than my other two but that's okay. I did enjoy the views, it made my pain a little more bearable.
