Running Through Injury

Looks like we all got out and enjoyed the fabulous fall weather for our runs and rides today! Like Rob, I was totally focused on just running steady miles with the 11:00 pace group of Runner's Edge for my 16 miler. After 2 warmup miles at 11:41 and 11:32, we settled in for 7 miles of very steady 10:33 average miles. I felt great and was confident I would finish steady and strong when suddenly at mile 9 a seemingly normal right foot strike produced a sharp pain in my right groin (same one I injured 2 months ago). The next 5 miles were a touch slug as I really couldn't run for very long at all. So I did a lot of walking, averaging 13:12's for miles 10-14. Finally, with 2 miles to go, my groin numbed up enough I could hold a longer run. The last 2 miles, which included just one bit of walking, averaged 11:20's each, which I'll take as a small victory. It was frustrating having an injury mess up what was a great outing, but I'm pleased with the speeding back up for the final 2 miles. I'll rest tomorrow and see how the groin progresses this week. I may have to cross train and stay off running for awhile. --Bill