Ty's Paused Adventures in Running

Yesterday I wrote in my preamble how I suffered an injury that is preventing me from running my first marathon ever tomorrow. Today I am going to talk about said injury, and how I have been feeling about it all week.

First things first, this could've been much worse. I do have a stress fracture in my left knee, but it is a minor fracture. I actually talked to my orthopedist this afternoon and he said that it is much closer to a stress reaction. I didn't know what that meant, so I asked. A stress reaction is the beginning of a fracture. It is what sets it all off. So the fact that they found this very early, that I had enough pain in my knee to go see a doctor on Monday, was a good thing. This means the recovery time is way less than it could have been had I left this untreated. Instead of 6 to 8 weeks, the doctor told me that an injury like this is more of a 2-4 week recovery period. That was some mild relief. But, I cannot run for two weeks, I cannot play basketball for two weeks, I cannot play softball, and while I can still coach my kids in their sports, I have to be braced and move as little, and slowly, as possible. That is going to be the hardest part for me. I like to be active. I get bored sitting still. I don't like not having things to do. It is just who I am. So no running for two weeks, when the weather is perfect for running, is going to be brutal. Luckily I have house stuff and my kids sports to keep me occupied, but it is still not going to be fun. Running is my getaway. It is my alone time. It is when I am doing what I want to do for myself. It is therapy. It is one of my absolute favorite things to do.

Then throw in the fact that I cannot run my race, a race I have been training really hard for for three months, I broke down when the doctor told me. I actually cursed really loud in his office. It was loud enough that I had to apologize for my outburst. I have been crushed since I officially found out on Wednesday that I could not run the race. I have gone through many emotions in the last three days. I have felt that my training was all for nothing. I have had worrisome moments where I think that I will never run again. I asked for multiple opinions before finally, mercifully, opting out of the race. This is my athletic life now. I do have rec league basketball and softball, but those don't measure up to running anymore. I first ran to lose weight, but I have fallen madly, deeply in love with the sport. I have gone from barely being able to finish a mile to running 25 miles in a six hour period. I run five times a week. I need it in my life. It is an addiction, but I feel like it is a good addiction. So to have it taken away from me for any amount of time, yeah, it really bums me out. I am not going to lie and say stuff about silver linings or getting my head right. I'm frustrated and mad. I was sad, but now it is just anger.

I do know that I will get back to running, but this really stinks. This is the worst case scenario for me. This was what I have been able to avoid for seven years. I knew this would happen at some point, but to have it happen a week before my first marathon, that is a hard pill for me to swallow. So I will do the rehab, I will do the resting, but I am not going to be happy about it.

This is a setback, but it will not stop me from getting back out there in four weeks, or whenever my doctor gives me the go ahead. I am bummed now, but hopefully it will only be temporary. Hell, I know it will only be temporary. I will run a marathon before 2021 is over. You can count on that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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