My name is on this wall.

This is the hard post to write. Today was race day, the day that I’d been training for since April. Instead of waking before dawn and queueing in the corrals, I was awake in bed with a massive foot cramp inside the giant boot. Instead of running, I went to get my flu shot. Instead of setting my personal record, I sat with my foot propped up on the ottoman.

Yes, I’m watching for my teammates times to post online, but I also have to be honest and admit that I’m also resenting them and their two healthy feet. I know that I’ll be out there again next year, but that feels like an eternity.

My reminder of why I did this.

I’ve loved the Team in Training experience, so much so that I’m going to do it all over again next year. But the Team merchandise is very… um… big. Visible. A little gaudy (sorry, guys). I’m more of a personal, private reminder sort of girl, something that doesn’t involve a prominent purple and green logo. So several weeks before my injury, I had a necklace made by Jessica’s Gifts on Etsy. The copper disc says “run” while the silver says “go team!” Beneath the copper disc, visible only to me, is the name of my honoree. It’s my subtle reminder of why I’m running, and who I’m running for. I made a commitment to run a race in his memory; if I have to wait until 2011 to do it, well, so be it.

It sounded better than "sedentary is the new beautiful."

I’m still trying to maintain some level of fitness in my downtime. I know that the crutches are making my arms stronger because they’re not nearly as sore as they once were. I’m doing plenty of crunches and upper body work, not because it’s fun (oh, how I hate crunches!) but because I have a lot of time on my hands. Maybe with some luck and hard work I’ll be in a decent place when I get the boot off and hit physical therapy. All I can do is look to the future so that the present doesn’t make me crazy.

Tags: injury, race, running, team in training

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