I have been really down this week; it’s called self-pity. See, my right shin has been most uncooperative with simple tasks like… walking. At my Monday night training, I hardly ran at all, to humor my right shin. Tuesday morning, I rode my bike for cross training, and my right shin was pissed at me. Tuesday, I limped all day. Wednesday, I decided to take a day of rest. But, I limped all day. So much so that I decided to call the orthopedic doctor, as suggested two Mondays ago by my coach if I continued to have major leg pain.

I was so upset yesterday. Weepy all day. I love days like that. /sarcasm

My doctor’s appointment was this afternoon. I was late, but then it was a full hour after my appointment time before I was seen. They x-rayed my leg (why when I go to the dentist, do they cover practically my entire body with lead, but when I had my leg examined, I had no lead protection at all?).

The few people who knew I had this appointment heard me say something like, “I’m going to see a doctor. It’s worth the $25 co-pay for peace of mind. What I really want to hear him say is, ‘it’s just shin splints. Suck it up; stretch; ice; and take more Advil.’ because if he says anything else, I’ll be devastated.”

When the doctor finally came in, after apparently viewing my x-rays, he felt up my leg, had me sit, stand, dance a jig, etc.

I liked the doctor a lot. He has run several marathons, so he understands the training schedule, and the pain.

::drumroll::

The x-ray shows no fractures. YAY! He thinks it’s just super annoying shin splints. YAY! He showed me several stretches. YAY! He told me to take 800mg of Ibuprofen (Advil) up to four times a day. YAY! He told me to ice, ice, ice. YAY!

He said, “I hate to tell you this, but you’re only going to have more and more pains as you continue training.” Um, yay? “Let me give you some advice: as you’re running, you’re going to have many parts of your body screaming at you. Focus on only one pain, because if you start paying attention to oh my knee hurts, my hip hurts, my shoulders hurt, you’re going to get depressed and be unable to continue. Focus on one pain, and you’ll be able to get through it.”

He gave me a giant piece of rubber to assist with stretching my leg.

Kids, I have to tell you, the doctor told me every single thing I wanted to hear. And it was so worth the $25 co-pay to have peace of mind. Because, frankly, if it was something more serious, it was also worth the price to find out for certain and avoid serious injury.

I brought my running shoes with me. He examined them. I brought the pink inserts with me. He examined them. He ordered me not to use them. He said they are not appropriate for the training I am doing, and I will only hurt myself if I use them.

I cannot even begin to express how relieved I am. He basically told me to just suck it up and keep training. If, in three weeks, I am still in pain, I’m to call and schedule an MRI. The MRI would pick up tiny fractures that are not visible on the x-ray. But he’s certain I’m fine.

Suck it up. Resume training. Buy stock in Advil.

He also told me the final five miles would be the most miserable five miles of my life. He said he has run a number of marathons, and every single time the final five was a beast for him. But, he’ll do another marathon. He high fived me, told me I was doing great in my training (he celebrated my 7.5 mile run with me when he asked where I’m at in training), and to keep it up.

I feel so relieved!

Now then… about me being a klutz, tripping, and falling tonight and bashing the hell out of my left knee…

wRitErsbLock