Yesterday, I received some really bad news. My sister called me to let me know that her brother in law (an ortho surgeon) thinks its highly likely I have a hip stress fracture in my left hip. After being secretly worried about this all week, this was not the news I wanted to hear. I had some ultrasound treatment on my leg and for the first time in almost four weeks, my adductor didn't hurt. Before the phone call,  I tried running around my house (I never said I was sane) I didn't feel any pain until I sat down. But instead of my adductor, it was in my pelvis. Epic fail.

I was sad. But, I pushed it to the back of my mind. Until, I received that phone call. Surprisingly, I didn't sulk as I would've in the past. Maybe I've learned to deal with these issues more easily-or maybe I'm just acclimated to being injured. Sad. I decided to eat my sorrows and enjoyed my favorite pizza from the local bar. It was delicious. Then, the husband brought me home reese's peanut butter "eggs" and a trash magazine. He is a keeper:)

I went to bed pretty pissed and that didn't change when I woke up. Let's just say I was less than enthused. Once I hopped on the bike, all of that negativity seemed to disappear. We had our largest group yet and I absolutely loved seeing all of the reflective gear in the distance. Made my heart happy.

I had to be the human GPS for a group of runners, so I ended up doing several out and backs. My watch recorded 20 miles but it was on the fritz so I am not sure of the total. I do know one thing. My attitude had completely changed. One good thing about biking-it still produces endorphins. Score Karin.

So what does all of this mean. It means that I am going to embrace my injury. I'm not going to complain to my friends like I normally would . I am just going to continue to bike until there is no pain. Maybe I will still run the half in May. Maybe not. I do know one thing-it will be slow and I most definitely won't PR. But that's okay. Who am I trying to impress anyway?

My plan of attack is to continue to bike at the gym, lift weights and do core work. On the long runs, I will borrow Jenny's bike and get some long rides in.

Have you ever been injured? If so, how did you embrace it?

Am I the only person out there who relates every single event in life to my spiritual growth? Sometimes, I want to believe that events in life are just random and insignificant in meaning, But being an introspective thinker, I am always looking for the lesson...the opportunity to examine and grow.

You see, I don't do anything less than 100%. I tend to jump in with both feet and give whatever I am attempting to achieve, my all. I can be pretty extreme (everyone that knows me in real life now nods and agrees:) For example, I absolutely love cycling and would give my right arm to purchase a bike. My friend let me borrow one over the summer when I was having IT band issues. I enjoyed a few rides before going out on a 30 miler with my BRP Jenny. The ride was a breeze but I fell and broke my wrist and  Injury number 4 ensued. I had to have surgery.

Why is this an example you might ask? Well, because maybe my all or nothing attitude lead to a 30 mile bike ride...perhaps I should've just enjoyed cycling around town for a while. And maybe, just maybe I shouldn't have continued for 28 miles then ran a mile with a broken wrist...hmm, did I injure my head when I crashed?

So, four weeks ago when I started having pain, I wanted to smack myself for once again forgetting what my running journey is truly all about. You see, I started doing speed work again. I was very cautious about this and put it off as long as possible. My running group was ready to get back into these drills and I was nervous.

Once we started doing them, it felt so good to go fast again. With seeing miles in the 8's, I felt like I was flying. It was a great feeling of accomplishment and freedom.

But, I guess somewhere along the way, my speed became too important. I forgot the reasons I love running. Things like alone time with God, self discovery and just pure peace. This time, it wasn't weeks and weeks that I got to be lost in my self absorbed regimen and pride induced denial; it was only a period of weeks. Three weeks to be exact.

I guess I can be thankful for that.

I tried to learn from my past mistakes and take time off. In the past, I spent too many hours running through pain which only perpetuated my injuries. this time, I immediately took a full week off and scheduled an appt with my chiropractor. I visited his office three times the first week receiving friction therapy (picture foam rolling on steroids) and a deep tissue massage. During this time, I would attempt a run here and there with little to no pain. But once I went full back into training, the pain gripped me and at its worst, my leg buckled under me.

Since that last painful run, I have taken off 5 days. It's hard to believe it's only been 5 days. It seems like an eternity. I plan on attempting my long run of 10 miles this weekend. I'm telling myself that if there is pain, to just bike it (borrowing Jenny's bike) I really hope i can be this smart.

I look around my group of girls and they rarely get injured. It can be so frustrating. I know I have it in me to run and I plan on doing it for life. So, what are my lessons here? Am I "thinking too much" and an injury is just an injury, nothing deeper?

What injuries have you experienced and what have you learned from them?

Help a girl out...clearly I am not getting it..

Today was the annual, epic Shamrock race downtown. I have a special place in my heart for this race and not just because I get to paint my fingernails green. This was my first ever race that I did. I ran the race alone and I will never forget turning the corner and seeing the finish line. I couldn't believe I finished without stopping and tears rolled down my cheeks. Cue the Rocky music. Okay I may be melodramatic, but it was memorable indeed.

I ran the race last year with my BRP, Jenny. She pushed me and we raced an average of 9:40. It was a good race and we had fun. We added on three miles at the end for our long run of seven miles.

This year, we have a large group and we all journeyed downtown together. But first, we met up at Jenny's and had fun acting like school children getting ready. You call it mid-life crisis. We call it awesome.

Arriving at the race, we hung out for a little bit around the circle, debated about the start, then discovered we were all off and lined up. I heard start and before I knew it, we were off. I had planned on doing negative splits, but that really just went out the window. I decided to just run a race for myself. I didnt want it to be gauged by pace but by what felt good. I told myself to enjoy this race. I paid for it, it was a beautiful day and I've run too many races miserable.

I felt absolutely wonderful until mile 3.25. The heat was balmy and I suddenly felt chills run down my body and I had to slow it down not to throw up. I was giving myself major pep talks. Like, don't puke all over that guy next to you.

I was never so happy to see the finish line after that. I didn't really have it in me to pick it up, but I tried. When I crossed the line, I was toast and knew I gave it my all. The race this year was 30 degrees warmer than last year and the year before. Makes a difference.

At first, I didn't think I had reached my goal of PRing. I was bummed but just happy that my leg held up and wasn't injured. (more on that later) I asked a runner friend of mine to calculate it for me and turns out I had shaved 27 seconds per mile off of my time. Woo hoo, I will take it!! I was seriously happy with this. But most of all, I was thankful for all of my little green friends. And no I am not talking about leprechauns. My runner girls that I love so much. 5 am runs wouldn't be as much fun without them.

I knew we had to run five miles after this and honestly, that was brutal. We walked a mile back for a total of 10 miles. I felt pretty sick until I came home and stuffed my face. Good times.

My runner girls did awesome and a few of them smoked it in the 8's...the others rocked it out including Val, who ran her fastest race yet! I am so proud of them all!!

Did you run a race today? What are your St, Patrick day plans?