Officially Freaking Out...Advice?

HMVOL7409

My mind is in overdrive right now and fear has swept over me as I prepare to pick up my race packet tomorrow for my first 1/2 Marathon on Sunday. I've been training since February and this was an ultimate goal of mine. However in the last 4 weeks I have had issues with my left IT Band that have me crippled somedays. I'm feeling 75-80% right now with 3 times daily stretching/foam rolling and nightly epsom salt baths. That fear is there though; that I will DNF. I could hardly run a mile in the last 2 weeks bc of the pain and I wanted to rest this week. I have no idea what to do to relax or test out my legs out or do I even try? One minute I want to say screw it and I will crawl if I have to and the other is I don't want to fail in front of my family who've pushed and supported me through all this. Has anyone else felt similar fears before their first big race? What the heck did you do to shut your mind off?

summertime_girl

I'm in the same boat. First half also on Sunday, and I've been fighting Lyme disease. I would do a 2 mile run today (I did yesterday). you'll be able to tell how your body feels painwise.

And though I have to keep telling myself the same thing, there's no shame in stopping if you really feel awful.

HMVOL7409

Gosh; Good Luck to you!!! I feel I shouldn't complain about pain when you are actually fighting something!!! You're an inspiration and hope you do well! Nerves have somewhat settled but im sure they will creep in again. Walking around the race expo today kinda stiffened me up but I'm going to try a slow jog for about a mile on the treadmill if I'm up for it tomorrow. Seeing everything today put things in perspective and I'm giving it my all no matter what. Just hope I can sleep tomorrow night!!!

fitontherun

Hello! I was in the same situation when I ran my first half marathon back in April. I was coming back from a case of IT band syndrome, which occurred back in November 2011. It was a pretty bad case of ITBS. I couldn't even run; more or less, walk without limping. I ended up not returning to running until late January and I did about 7 weeks of physical therapy.

Everything seemed to be going well with my left IT band. Though, two weeks before my half marathon, I noticed some discomfort with my right hip and knee. I immediately took an ice bath and carefully stretched and foam rolled my leg. I also had some pain in my right lower hamstring, near the IT band insertion point. I decided not to do any more running until my half marathon. During that time, the discomfort in my right hamstring seemed to resolve itself. On the morning of the race, I was actually more concerned about my left IT band. All was going well until the mile 9. My right lower hamstring/right IT band felt like it was on fire. I immediately knew that the pain would prevent me from making my sub 2:15 goal. It hurt a lot to run, but the pain was even worse if I stopped to walk. I was afraid that I would have to crawl to the finish line.

Luckily, I caught up with one of my classmates who was not having a good race. We walk/ran the rest of race. I managed to finish in 2:18:58. But after I crossed the finish line I was in tears. Thankfully, I texted one of my friends (who was spectating) to bring my knee brace to the finish line. I ended up taking a break from running until August (mostly due to the heat), and worked on strengthening my hips and hamstring.

My advice to you is:

1. Take it easy, especially on hills.
2. It's okay to take walking breaks.
3. Talk to other runners as you race. The conversations I had with my classmate helped distract me from the pain.
4. Listen to some great music as you run.
5. Remind yourself that you're awesome for putting all this training.

Lastly enough, if the pain becomes too intense during the race, and you believe you cannot continue, it is absolutely okay to DNF. It is better to DNF than to spend months recovering from a running injury. American marathoner Ryan Hall had his first DNF at this year's Olympic Marathon. He was shocked that he had to pull out but he said it was better to DNF than to not injure himself any further.

I hope your IT band cooperates tomorrow. Don't forget to smile and have fun! Good luck at your race!

summertime_girl

I hope you had a great race today. While my time was SLOW, I finished mine. And for now, that's good enough for me.

HMVOL7409

Yes I did! I may have been off my usual pace by 90 seconds/mile and it was tough physically and mentally but I pushed through and ran the entire race in 2:25. Not the time I wanted but I have a time to beat now which I know I can do when I'm 100% healthy. Thank you!!! Glad you finished yours as well!!

summertime_girl

Great! I'm spending this morning with some ice on my foot, but also searching for flat halfs to attempt. This one had some pretty steep hills. Once I'm better, I want to get my time under 2:15. Was 2:42 yesterday, but between Lyme and hills, I'm just happy I finished!