On the 11th day till running Lucia biked to work and back onl-eee She was soooo laz-eeeee!
One of my wonderful friends is a high school teacher, and he helps train the cross-country team. He asked the school coaches about my injury, and how I should go about my recovery. Apparently, they all agree that running a marathon in January is too soon, and they even think February would be pushing it... I really feel that the injury was probably not too serious to begin with because I didn't have much pain, and that I'm very strong from all the cross-training, so that I can really do the one in Feburary. But, with so many people telling me that January is too soon, and as much as I really want to get to Phoenix to meet Wall-e, Misty, Shauna, and the rest of the gang, I'm going to have to pass and think about my longer-term health. Booo-hooo...
The high school coaches also suggested to find out from my doctor what was the cause of the injury. The first time I remember having pain in my shins, in both legs, was right after I started running with a new pair of Sauconys, so I wonder if that could be it. But, I really think I increased my mileage too fast. Maybe both.
As I mentioned, my friend is a high school teacher. He is always so positive and excited about his job, he's making me think about a teaching career again. That has always been in my mind, but when I decided to go to grad school and was thinking of either Economics or teaching, I went with Economics. It may not have been the best choice, as right now I'm starting to believe. In this town where everything is so dominated by politics, international development, etc., it's hard to "think outside the box" if you're not interested in that stuff.
Yesterday I went online and looked at schools back West that have Master's in Education degrees... Colorado State is a good possibility - I have a good friend living in Fort Collins that could make the move easier for me, and who is having some pretty serious health issues (he is unfortunately going blind from a degenerative disease, among other things) so I know he would benefit from having me around too. And, since Aaron and Pepper are going to be in nearby Denver, it's a no-brainer, right? :)
Ok, I was just bouncing out some interior thoughts there. Now back to work!
Austin Marathon, February 15, 2009, here I come! |