Finally on the Mend!

Tonight I went out and ran 3 miles and in a lot of ways, it was freeing and liberating. After the run, it's the first time I've not had signficant pain since January 10. Man, it's been a long, long weeks. As often as I wanted my brain to push the pain from my body, it just would not happen. I began to wonder if I would ever get over this injury. Since the HM, I just haven't been able to push through the pain and run as I wanted to. That was the frustrating part. I attempted to run last Monday and after 7 minutes, I just had to quit. Quit- funny, that's a word that I've always refused to acknowledge. I would be many things in my life, but a quitter wasn't one of those. When the pain in the leg was bad and then my ankle went wonky, I knew I had to stop. One week and one heel wedge later, I feel almost new. Okay, slightly used would be more like it, but definitely going in the right direction. On Saturday, I went out and ran three miles, but at mile 2, I had to revert to walk/run intervals. It became a mentally taxing run when my iPod wouldn't play. I heard all the negative voices in my mind, voices that I thought I had banished long ago. I was pumped up all day today to go out and run. The weather was beautiful, about 65 degrees and sunny. The first mile was a struggle, but I felt different than I had. There was no pulling sensation in my leg. My gait still felt slightly off, but with the heel wedge, it's going to be different and will probably take several runs to get used to. After mile one, I felt good and strong. The pace was pretty good - about 11:40. Mile 2 came quickly and I was surprised when my Garmin beeped to indicate it. The last mile was good, felt like I worked everything out of my leg and ankle. Who knew that a simple piece of felt/foam would make a HUGE difference? I was a bit skeptical at first myself. After the run, we walked back to the car and when I got there, I realized that there was no pain my leg. Whoo hoo! Exciting!! The worst pain for me, especially after the HM, came within a few minutes after I stopped. The only issue I had was my sock rubbing my ankle where I had put the capzasian. I guess the leg was heated up, so my sock rubbed a small place on it. Lesson learned - no capzasian below the sock line.
So, all in all, it was a great evening. I no longer doubt that I can do the 10K Saturday. I may have to take a walk break or two. I will definitely keep with my strategy to walk through the water stops, because that has served me well. I got my mojo back. Yay me!!!