Cautiously optimistic

I went running on Sunday.  For the first time in weeks.

It went okay.

It was humid and about 150 degrees out.  (Well, maybe not quite that hot.  But above a certain point, does it matter?) Hubby and I went to a nearby park that has a one-mile paved loop, and ran laps.  The heat was brutal, and I was dead tired after just three miles.

And the hamstring?  Well, it's a little shaky, but it seemed to hold up. 

It's not 100% yet.  I've spent a lot of time icing it, and resting it again.  Another run this morning, and more ice today.  Did you know that a blue ice pack, the kind you use in coolers, works really well on a sore hamstring?  It's true...it's flat and easy to sit on.  Don't laugh, it's the easiest way to ice the back of your thigh and still get some work done!

So yes, it's still a bit sore.  I'm going to give it a few more days, then try it all again.  And again.  And again...

This morning, while I was slogging along in the early morning heat, trying to step gently and not jar my hips too much, I was thinking about my future.  Or at least, my future as a runner.  I was thinking about the marathon I have planned at the end of November, and what my chances are of being able to make it through the training, and the race itself.  I was wondering if I should just give up on the idea of a marathon this year, or even next year.  Maybe the distance is just too much. 

Then I thought, who cares?  I want to do the marathon.  So I'm going to continue to try and heal up, and keep training.  And I'll run the marathon.  That will be great.  Unless I can't do it; then I'll do the half marathon.  That would be okay, too. 

And if I can't do either in November, I'll still live. Because someday my hamstring will be okay.  And there are always more marathons.