Run the Hammer

In January I signed up for the Run The Hammer race in November. The race is part of the Hamilton Marathon Road2Hope. It's a 3 part race. You run the 5k and 10k on Saturday, then the half marathon on Sunday. I like a challenge so running a 5k, 10k and a half marathon in one weekend sounded fun.

Then I injured my hip in June and didn’t run all summer. I started running again mid-September. Slowly and carefully. I went to a professional and followed the rehab plan she set out for me. I was worried about my lack of training, but I had to trust there was still some runner muscle memory left in me. I went to this run hoping to finish all 3. I pushed myself on the 5k with a boost from a friend who ran with me and we pushed each other hard the last kilometer. Then 45 minutes later I was at the start line again to run the 10k. I met my time goals for both runs (I made sure they were realistic to the amount of training I had done). I felt decent and headed home to watch the Blue Jays in Game 7. The stress of the game made me feel super drained. I woke up sad from the Blue Jays loss and very tired Sunday morning. I got there but didn't have time to pee because the lines for the porta potty were so long and the race was starting. The first kilometer I was all in my head about how much I had to pee. I was very happy to see a porta potty and took a quick pee stop and off I went. Then during kilometer 2, my knee started hurting really bad. I was getting worried. I walked for a bit, then stepped to the side and stretched my quad and when I did that my knee made a little pop. Turned out to be the adjustment it needed. I started running again, and just kept telling myself to stay steady. Steady. That was my mantra for the whole run. Not too slow, not too fast, just steady. Well, I ended up running most of the half and achieved my second fastest half marathon time! After having to come back from injury I was so proud to complete the trifecta! I'm proud of myself for putting in the rehab work to overcome this injury and pushing myself during the runs.

Challenge complete! Also, I did it for the medals!