Panic rises, panic recedes.

Well, unfortunately, what I thought were minor shin splits started to hurt like hell on Friday afternoon. I took Thursday off, then ran 5K easy on Friday morning because nothing hurt. But later, my left shin started to hurt while walking.

Saturday morning, even though I REAALLLY wanted to do my long run, I resisted, and I am really glad that I did. I did some walking on Saturday, and every step hurt. That evening, I went to Walgreens and bought an Ace bandage, and I kept my whole lower leg wrapped for the next two days. That's how much it was bothering me.

I read up a lot on my symptoms, and for a day or two I was on the verge of tears because I was convinced I had a stress fracture in my left tibia. And according to everything I read, returning to marathon or half marathon training can take over 6 months after a stress fracture. Goodbye, race.

But, I'm happy to report that I'm relatively certain at this point that it is not a stress fracture for the following reasons:
1. Jumping up and down on my left foot doesn't cause any sharp pains. Sort of a dull ache, but jumping on the other foot does that too.
2. Icing and taking anti-inflamatories has helped tremendously. I haven't had the leg wrapped at all in the last two days, and walking no longer hurts.
3. I also have similar, though less severe, pains in my other leg, and I find it really hard to believe that I fractured both tibia. Plus, shin splints often show up in both legs.

I was actually feeling good enough today to be tempted to go to speed work tonight. But, I resisted again, which I think was the right thing to do. Though I feel almost no pain now, I can still feel the bumps on my shins. As of right now, I'm planning on giving it two more days and then maybe attempting a run on Saturday, letting how I feel determine the length.

I went from being in a very comfortable place in my training to being in a rather precarious place. I have 8 and a half weeks to the half, which will give me enough time to be ready as long as my recovery doesn't last too long.

I'm not certain I will be ready. These things can take a long time to heal. But gosh darnit, if I am not ready, it will NOT be because I did something stupid. I'm resisting for at least two more days!

Think healing thoughts. Taking so much time off has been hard for me, because I still so clearly remember how hard it was to come back after the psoas thing. Plus, I have irrational fears about gaining back the weight I lost and blah blah blah. But instead of dwelling, I've been trying to enjoy the break, and I also have tried to up my calcium and protein.