My Ruined Plans

In the recent months, I’m been able to realize that I’ve gone through my fair share of ruined plans. This topic is my set of ruined athletic plans. My running has not gone through its best stages in roughly four months, or since the end of my last track and field season. I’ve gone from about running 35 miles a week, to about 2 miles a week. If I was currently an athlete, that’d be atrocious. Well, even when I’m not an athlete, that’s still disgusting.

I’ve gone through a shin injury for about 4 months. I guess it’s my fault, really. I never really took enough rest in order for it to heal properly. After seeing my doctor and firmly stating that I don’t have a stress fracture, I probably have an overuse injury. My doctor quoted “It could take up to six months to about three years for it to fully heal”. Please, two weeks is unbearable for me, and now I’m being told I could have to wait up to three years to be fully healed?

After hearing that, I knew my plans were ruined. You see, I planned on running the 115^th Boston Marathon in 2011, and at the rate my injury is healing, it seems very unlikely. I mean, the pain is going away steadily with the correct treatment I’ve been applying, but the time it’ll take to get my body back into shape and then into training will be way past the marathon date itself.

Then I was thinking about 2011 Dartmouth Relays to run the mile unattached, but now I’m not too sure. It’s in January and I’m still not in shape to do anything yet, so it’s back to sticking to the rehab. It’s a long process, and it’s truly unbearable to not be able to run like I used to. I watch all the athletes training in college and I wish I could be running with them and feeling their pain. That’s my true obsession.

Hey, maybe 2012 will have better luck for me. You never know. Until then, I’m stuck in the sidelines, making my knowledge more useful than my legs.