2015 NYCRUNS Brrr-ooklyn Half Marathon

26,218 OUCHES!

After nine months of learning the ins and outs and ups and downs of running, I was ready for my first race. I decided to run the 2015 NYCRUNS BRRR-OOKLYN HALF MARATHON in Prospect Park.

Training was fun, especially the long runs, with every additional mile added I celebrated a new personal best. I was riding an incredible high right before it all came crashing down. Three weeks before the race the top of both my feet swelled up. I couldn’t run! At the time I didn’t know why. I changed the pattern of my shoelaces to help take pressure off my feet, but it didn’t really help. So I decided to not run for one week.

Two weeks before the race I laced up my running shoes once again and attempted a short, easy run. It was a disaster! Less than a mile out my feet began to throb with pain. I had to abandon the run and slowly limped home. That day I thought about my next move, I decided to not run for the remaining time left leading up to the race. I prayed that two more weeks was enough time for my feet to heal.

To add to the drama, the morning of the race 4 inches of snow dropped down from the sky. My running shoes got soaking wet walking from the subway to the starting gate. It was 33 degrees and sleeting when the starting horn blew. Off I went.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I tried to ignore the sharp pain every time my feet hit the ground. All 13.1 miles. Roughly 26,218 steps. That’s 26,218 ouches!

It wasn’t pretty but on that cold January day I crossed the finish line. Of course, the constant pain and the derailed training added maybe 15 minutes to my finishing time but I didn’t care, I felt fantastic. It was my first race and I loved everything about it, including the pain. At the end of the race my feet were swollen again. I had a lot of trouble walking back to the subway. Later on I discovered it was a design flaw in my running shoe that caused the injury.

I rested my feet for the entire month of February. I bought new kicks. And I slept soundly every night with my first finishing metal hanging prominently over my bed. I was hooked.