Shifting Thoughts

I've felt like it's been a bit hard to post after my last one; this leg issue seems to trump everything else sometimes. However, since I last posted, I've really been thinking hard about my leg pain and asking myself if I can live with the pain. Could I go back to running ultras with it? Could I live my life "normally" and just get used to it?

I'm not sure. The past week, my training for the San Francisco Half Marathon, that I'm doing with some co-workers, kicked off in full swing this past week. We ran 5 last Sunday, had a track workout (about 3 miles) Tuesday, Trail Running Thursday (about 3.5), and 7 this Sunday. I also ran 3 with Ed Wednesday and 3 on Saturday with some friends in Santa Cruz. All told, I ran just under 20 miles over the last 7 days and felt pretty great. I really enjoyed running with new people (reminded me of trail running days) and actually felt somewhat fit. I even ran an 8:26 at our timed mile for the track workout, and my last mile of the 7 miler was a 10:02. I just don't know if it's worth having a risky surgery that is not highly likely to do anything beneficial, and would certainly derail my current fitness, or even make things worse.

I am going to get an epidural after school lets out (timing just hasn't worked to do it sooner), which has a small chance at helping. If that doesn't work, I might just keep running and let it be for a while, and try to change how I'm thinking about it.

For now, I'm enjoying feeling strong(er), eating healthier, and just generally feeling good and ready for summer to begin.