Another Setback and a New Goal

After my last post, I went to REI to do some shopping for the race (new headlamp, gels, etc). My knee was still not feeling right so I took the elevator up to the second floor of the store. I decided to walk down the stairs to test my knee a bit. Well, the pain is back. My IT Band decided to bark at me in a big way and it lasted all day. I guess 9 miles was too much at this point in my recovery.

The good news is my IT Band made the Rocky Raccoon decision for me - I will not be able to do the race. I had been going back and forth in my head about it for weeks. Could I do it given my condition? How long would my knee hold up before it started to hurt and I was reduced to a painful walk? Running for the DREAM Fund played a big part in my decision as well. I really did not want to let anyone down. But in the end, my body made the decision for me. I am just not able to do the race.

This injury is so strange. Right now I am still able to run, but I can't run very far without aggravating it and going back to square one. I was doing the 9 miles on Saturday and all I could think about was my IT Band. When would it reach out and start barking at me? How many miles could I go before it did? Would it bark at me at all? Was I cured?

Well at least now I know the answer. I am still injured and this is going to take some time to heal. It would be completely foolish to try and do Rocky Raccoon. I could probably gut out 30-40 miles (I think), but I would really hurt myself for future races. But I am not done with the Rocky Raccoon. It is the 3rd largest 100 miler in the country and I want to complete it! So 2009 will have to be my year!

I am still going down to the race in two weeks, but now as an aid station volunteer. I love the whole trail running experience and community and I want to help out. There is also an 8 hour mandatory trail work as part of my Western States entry, so this will be a good opportunity to do it. I have a few buddies who will be doing the race, so I will be able to monitor their progress while working the aid station.

I have really struggled mentally during these past weeks. I wanted to do the Rocky Raccoon so badly. It is really hard to let it go. I trained for 8 months for this race (probably overtrained) and it has been my goal the entire year. But my body is telling me otherwise, so I must let it go. Now I will turn my focus on getting ready for the Western States 100 at the end of June. I'll post more about this race in the future.

So for now I'll continue my physical therapy, stretching exercises, and core work along with running every other day but for no more than 4 miles. That seems to be the magic number at this point before my IT Band starts to hurt. I'll take this time when I can't do long runs and really work on my upper body so I can have a more balanced body.

5 months until the Western States 100. I have a lot of work to do before I get there!