It was tough...but I finished..... I have been battling IT Band issues for about 2 weeks now. I cut back my miles and did my best to heal it.... I felt the same in the morning as I have been feeling. My left IT Band was tight so I knew it would be a long day. My goal was to finish and I was unsure if I would. I had a good talk with Kory Friday night and between some wonderful prayers and positive thoughts I made it through. I was sitting alone on the bus and said one last prayer on the way up.
I started out about mid-pack after the first half-mile and just settled in to my pace. Barry Smith passed me in the first mile and told me my running looked funny, like I was in pain. I knew my stride was going to look bad as I was favoring the left knee. I told him good luck and just soldiered on. As the sun cam up I looked at my Garmin and my pace wasn't too bad. I was averaging a 7:12 by the time I started the out-and-back at mile 7/8. I saw a few familiar faces as I headed up and back and that helped as well. I was thinking if I could have a 7:30 average at the half I could limp in an 8:30 average in the 2nd half and still be around 3:30. I hit the half in 1:36, a bit ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, my abdominal tendonosis started to hurt so I had decisions to make. I was heading in to the classic Catch-22. I have been dealing with this abdominal issue for months and while it is improving, I last a lot longer if I take a few walk breaks to keep the pain at bay. Here is where the Catch-22 comes in to play. I also knew that if I stopped to walk, my IT Band would tighten up and I would have a hard time getting going again. To add to that, I was beginning to need a bathroom stop. I decided to push as far as I could before my first stop because I did not want to deal with the IT Band getting worse. It was hurting, but I could deal with it. The miles coming through Inkom and on the old highway were starting to get a bit ugly. I saw Sue and Nicole around mile 17 and they helped my spirits. Sue later told me that I looked like my hands were clenched and my face was in a severe grimace. I was indeed running through pain, but to be honest I was not feeling that bad or I was ignoring it pretty well. As I passed each mile marker I just said "Kory" under my breath. I knew he was praying for me and I cannot thank him enough as I felt that strength carry me through. By the time I hit the 20 mile mark, I knew I had to stop for a minute. I used the porta-potty and when I stepped out, the 10K race started right in front of me. I spent the last 6 miles weaving my way through 10K walkers, then 10k slower runners, then 5K walkers, and so on. It was a bit exhausting. I stopped and walked at mile 23 and again at mile 25. When I was getting ready to run again at the mile 25 aid station I saw Teena getting a drink. I asked her how she was doing and she asked me to push her in for a PR. This was all I needed to finish with a decent mile. We worked our way around the slower runners and walkers and finished strong. She got her PR by a minute and I was honored to be a small part of it. This was my 10th Pocatello Marathon and it was my slowest (3:32). But I will take it as an injury PR and to be honest I was just happy to finish. I got to talk to lots of great people in the shady finish area. Jeff won the half, Dan Bruner got a 2:50, Teena got a PR. I met Smooth and her husband, they are GREAT people. I want to thank Kory again....he helped me a ton this day! He knows what I mean.
I am hoping to be a lot healthier by St.George.
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