Injurious Behavior

Since the marathon, it's been one setback after another.  At first it was an intermittent popping ache behind my left knee: patellofemoral syndrome or "runner's knee."  So i stopped running for a few days.  After that got better, i came down with a pain on the lateral side of the same joint: iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome.  So i stopped running for almost a week.  After a lot of rest, stretching, and Ibuprofen, the knee feels better - but now i'm getting a really bad case of shin splints - a deep ache right behind my right shin bone, much worse than i've ever had it before.

I've never really had a legitimate injury.  Everything i've injured through the years has been through an embarrassing mishap.  I've sprained my right foot at least twice: the first time after jumping down a flight of stairs and the second after doing "The Running Man" at my Freshmen-Sophomore (dance) Night.  I have a dislocatable shoulder, but it wasn't so much a sports act that displaced it as a freak swimming accident during a party back in High School.  All the other assorted odds and ends i've hurt through the years have been the result of similar innocent stupidities.  The reason is simple: i've never been athletic enough to sustain a true injury.

Surprisingly, aside from a minor case of shin splints at the beginning, in the three years leading up to the marathon i never hurt anything in any major way. So it makes no sense to me why the little injuries should start creeping up on me now.  The only thing that's really changed is that i'm pushing myself more.  Keeping in mind that i finished in 4:10 plus change (an average 9:34 pace), it stands to reason that i can realistically train at somewhere between 9:00 and 9:30 for all runs (including the easy ones) from now on.  In fact, before the unceremonious onset of my ITBS, i had just finished a 10-miler at a comfortable 9:24 pace.  And yes, i did take a week off after the marathon. 

My sneaking suspicion is that this is reality's way of putting me in my place.  While i've never really considered myself a "runner," but rather just a random dugyot who happens to run (a big difference), finishing the marathon somehow made me believe that yes, maybe there is a runner somewhere in this body.  

But what if 4:10:25 isn't a jumping-off point for future endeavors?  What if it isn't the new "floor" for my abilities, but rather the same old ceiling?  And what if finishing the marathon wasn't my great coming-out party leading to bigger and better feats of athleticism but rather my one bright shining moment of glory before i bow my head, slink into anonymity, accept my lot in life, and park myself on the couch to watch TV and eat Doritos (mmmm) 24/7?  Maybe i have no right to claim the mantle of "runner."  What a depressing thought. 

Bah, enough self-pity.  There's only one way to find out  Run! 

The walking/running wounded...