Ask And You Shall Receive

With just four and-a-half days 'til prom night, my doctor finally gave me the green light to give it a go. On Saturday, the 5th of March, I am going to take part in the country's second-longest solo road race, the Bataan Death March 102 Kilometer Ultramarathon Race. This is my just reward for abstaining from running and attending daily treatment and therapy sessions for two full weeks. From the reaction of my doctor and the attending PT, I could tell that I made a quick and somewhat unexpected recovery. The power of wanting it badly.

Doc's clearance notwithstanding, I don't know if the injured tissues in my left shin have recovered fully. He said that shin splints, particularly one as severe as the one that struck me, could take anywhere from six to eight weeks to heal completely. I did my healing in a little over two. All I know is that I am pain-free at the moment, and doc has said that I can do it. That's good enough for me. I do realize, however, that I am in a very precarious position here. The injury may or may not come back during the run. And if it does... let's just say I'd rather not think about it for now. It won't come back. Mind over matter. 

Today will be another rest day - a little more time to heal. I will try and get my legs back with a 5k run tomorrow and on Thursday. I don't know what level of conditioning I'll be in, but I'm confident that the drop would not be significant. If anything, I'm hoping that the two-week rest will serve me in good stead come the later stages of the run.

Prior to the injury, my goal was to cover the 102-kilometer route in 17 hours or less. Given where I am right now, I'd be happy to just finish pain-free. Finishing within the cut-off time of 18 hours will just be gravy.

The road warriors of BDM 160 had their fun last weekend. Now, let us have ours.