The Injury Bug Strikes!

All the way back in May, I announced that I was going to tackle my first FULL marathon after a few years on the bench. But, as you can already probably predict by the title of this post, that will not be happening anymore.

About a month ago, while up at a summer camp with friends and family from church, I tried to participate in the annual sand volleyball tournament. Well, my knee felt otherwise. During our second game of the tournament, it decided to buckle underneath my overweight-ness (accompanied by three, terrifying pops) with a little help from the uneven, shifting, soft sand court. Awesome. At least my team went on to win the tournament without me!

As you can see, my right knee swelled up nice and big...

After getting back from camp, I wasn't able to get to the orthopedic doctor for 2.5 weeks. By then, things had started to settle down a little bit - I was able to walk without a limp, and it really only hurt when doing a squatting motion or trying to jog. The doctor didn't really find anything wrong either, with the exception of a half-hearted, hail mary "possible torn meniscus" diagnosis. He suggested I head to physical therapy for 6-8 weeks and get back to him after that. While there, they further diagnosed a hamstring strain and possible meniscus tear. Splendid.

So since then I've been forced to deal with the reality that I won't be able to finish training for the marathon in two months. I've fallen extremely far behind in my training, and don't want to risk further injury by trying to rush back into things. The icing on the cake is that I can't get sell my registration to someone else either, since the race is a Boston qualifier. Better believe I'm going to pick up my swag bag though!

26.2 - A Beginner's Tale

I've done it. I've registered for a full marathon. Frankly, I have no idea why I let myself be convinced this would be a good idea. I have a ridiculous amount of work ahead of me. And honestly, it makes me quite fearful.

26.2 miles is TWICE as far as I've ever run at one time in my entire life. I remember finishing my half marathons in the past and thinking, "so I'd have to turn around and do this again? Oh, heck no." Now here I am, already paid for the race, and unable to take it back.  **GULP**

The realization of this possible mistake has rattled me so much that I've restarted this blog post four times. For someone who sure seems to have a lot to say on lots of topics, I'm really at a loss when it comes to this. The fact that I've registered for and will be participating in a full marathon in November evokes all sorts of emotions within me - most of which I still haven't completely worked through (as you can see below).

I feel very intimidated. I am doubtful. I am pessimistic about my ability to complete it and therefore am procrastinating when it comes to training.

Yet I am excited. I see my potential. I see this as a mountain to be climbed. I know it will be a life-changing experience both mentally and physically.

I don't understand how so many negative feelings can exist in my mind about this, yet I am still so excited to tackle this challenge. You'd think it would be one or the other. Either way, I better stop typing and lace up my Mizunos.

In the coming weeks and months, I will be documenting my journey and progress as I train for my first full marathon. I hope that you'll read along with me. Any tips and tricks for training are much appreciated!

120 Days...

My 30th birthday is rapidly approaching. At this point, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that. Even though it's "just another year," I feel like moving into the next decade of my life carries more psychological weight than it might physically.

In my case, I'm looking to carry much less actual weight into my 30's. But as you can see by the title of the post, I only have 120 days!

My original slogan was "Ripped by 30," but since I've continued to put off the part where I start to eat healthy and work out, I doubt that I'll actually be able to obtain 'ripped' status by August.

However, there are still 4 solid months until my birthday, so there is still plenty of time to make some good progress - and I will keep you posted!

Question: What foods or exercises should I definitely take advantage of before August to make the most of these 120 days?