Week 3: rainy thoughts and 8 miles!

So week three went pretty well, despite fighting what has become a very nasty shin splint! My ice wrap has been getting a lot of use lately!

My Wednesday run was 4 miles in the rain. It's funny how in just a few short weeks, rain has gone from something I avoided at all costs to something I run in without a second thought! The rain and overall gloomy weather seemed appropriate though, as I had just heard about a friend of a friend's daughter losing her battle with leukemia, and a co-worker's son being diagnosed with cancer. I thought of both of them on my run.

My shin was not particularly happy but managed to hold out. Toward the end of my run, I had this moment where I started thinking about the sadness of the day and how the rain hitting me was a lot like tears. I pictured every drop hitting me to be a tear from a person who was affected by cancer, and realized that even adding them all together over the course of the run would come nowhere near the number of people battling cancer in the world right now. I let their tears help me get through the run and finished strong.

Saturday's run was almost 8.5 miles. I was nervous about my shin but gave it a shot, wearing a brace for support and trying to stay away from heel striking, and surprisingly got through with barely any pain at all!

We also started trying out some running fuel at our second water stop, with the option of gels or chews. I tried out the chews, thinking the texture might be less gross, but the ones they had were so chewy my jaw hurt! I'm definitely sucking it up and trying a gel next time.

Week four has not started well -- after a rough day, my two-mile recovery run involved exhaustion, pain and even blood! I had a ton of plans for around the house tonight but my body is telling me that just won't be possible. I can only hope the week will get better from here!