The Sound of Silence (and sneakers hitting the pavement)

We had our longest group run to date on Sunday: 16-18 miles. I was very nervous about this run. I've never run more than 14 miles. I woke up on Sunday morning to a little more than a dusting of snow. I drove the 30 minutes out to Wayland where there were 30+ runners ready to go. I started out running with a few people but as we split based on pace I ended up by myself. The course went through Wayland, Sudbury, and Concord. The snow came down and coated the streets and the trees. The course took us through a National Wildlife preserve. The course was beyond beautiful. I ran to the sound of the snow, the sound of my breath, the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement....and the pain in my right knee.

When I turned around at mile 8, I had excruciating pain in my right knee. The pain eventually subsided a little, but both knees were achy the rest of the run. I have to say it was one of the hardest runs to date. I spoke to Jack afterwards and explained to him about my knee. He thought that I strained my IT Band (iliotibial band), the fibers that run on the outside of the thigh from the glutes to the knee. His solution was to take a week off from running...still do cardio and work-out but not run. My family friend and DO Andy agreed with Jack's diagnosis. SO here it is...two days later and all I want to do is run. I'm bored, anxious, and feeling like I'm going to be behind on my miles. I know I need to listen to my body and heal, but I'm nervous. Hopefully, I can do enough cardio and strength training this week to keep me active and feeling like I'm moving in the right direction.

And I do have to keep reminding myself....I did complete 16 miles....in the snow...with the beauty of nature, my thoughts, and a note tucked in my pocket from my friend Adrienne Hutt which read "You Go Girl!! Love, A"