My first race of 2011 was an eventful one for sure. First of all, even though they always give out sweet t-shirts, I have never participated in the Salt Lake City Track Club Winter Series because I did not want to run in the smog for one or two of the races. However, in past years, my friends would always run it and every weekend when they raced it was just blue skies. Of course, since I signed up, it was beyond smoggy this morning; that is, just plain gross (in other words, Beijing air quality). With that said, the long-sleeve, burnt-orange race t-shirts for this year’s Series are pretty styling.
When I got out of bed this morning, my right shin was sorer than sore. Before heading out, I taped it up and jogged a total of 8.3 miles down to Liberty Park, took one lap around the park, and then to the Salt Lake Running Company to meet up with one of my friends who was nice enough to give me a ride out to Saltair. During this warm-up run, my lower right shin just became sorer and sorer. In fact, over the last mile I was hobbling and started thinking that maybe I broke a bone or blew out a tendon. My threshold for pain is not that great, but I have never felt much pain while running. In fact, my friend asked me several times if I was up to running and I felt like saying no; that it, I felt like packing my right ankle in ice, felling sorry for myself, and calling it a day. However, it was thirty minutes before the start of the race and I did not want to ruin my friend’s race. Consequently, I said I would un-tape my leg (it was feeling like it was going to explode and I could hardly put any weight on it) and give it a try.
Once at The-Great-Salt-Lake starting line, I was able to gingerly walk on it and started thinking that I could at least run a sub-30 5k on it (my shin wanted to swell up, so removing the tape alleviated the pressure). At 10:00 am the race started and from the back of the pack, I kept it nice and slow. After a half of a mile, I started to feel better and just continued to pick up the pace all the way to the finish line. I ended up running a 0:20:47 (official time was probably closer twenty-one because I did not start my watch until crossing the starting line) with the following splits: 7:33, 6:35, 6:00, and 0:39. Before the smog (I raced wearing my running mask) and my right-shin injury, I was hoping to run a sub-17:40 for this race. With that said, I was able to see many of my friends and I’m happy with my time. Consequently, I’m really glad I ran this race.
My friend then dropped me off at work then I noticed that the lower part of my right shin was really swollen. As a result, before reporting to work, I completed 5.6 miles on the elliptical. I dislike the elliptical, but it was better than running in the smog or putting any more pressure on my right shin.
In regards to my non-running workout, I completed just 300 sit-ups.
5-minute Plank Challenge: even this is too much pressure on my right shin
Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Daily Challenge: a serving of mixed fruit
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