Lil' Swiney walks a full race (well, almost)

This knee issue that I wrote about last week finally has a name: patellar tendinitis. So, rather than running the Harpoon 5 miler this past weekend and attempting my 5 mile PR along with all my friends, I walked it.

yup. walked it.

It took enormous amounts of self control, and I'll be honest: I felt like a complete idiot the entire time. I started 20 minutes early so I could get somewhat of a head start, and I kept bursting out laughing at myself the entire way. But I finally just embraced it. In the end, I only walked about 4 miles of the 5 mile course because my knee was starting to get tight. And I kept telling my friends that I'd won the the unofficial walkers category, but I can't even say that much, because I chopped a full mile off the course. This tendinitis thing better start healing itself, because the icing/stretching/massaging/swimming/medicating combo isn't doing much of anything.

I have to say though: there is something kind of fun about showing up for a race with no nerves, not having to be well-rested, not having to stretch out completely and tie my shoes 714 times and make sure I get in line for the porta potties before I start. It's a whole new kind of road race when you're not actually running to be competitive!