"...and you said you're a marathon runner?"

Her: "...and you said you're a marathon runner?"

This is me on the phone with the nice lady at UPMC Sports Medicine. I'm calling to make an appointment to find out (hopefully once and for all) what I need to do to get past this shin pain.

Me: *pause* "...well... Not yet. I'd like to be a marathon runner, though."

I've been running now on and off for years. Every time I start with the goal of running a 5k (no walk breaks). Every time, I fail out of whatever couch to 5k program I'm doing somewhere in week 3 or 4. I've tried running through the pain (bad idea). I've tried easier plans. I've tried stretching, icing, calf raises, etc. Basically I've tried everything that Google and my long list of athletically inclined friends has suggested. I'm further along in my training ever this time - actually so many weeks now that I've lost count. I'm feeling amazing in cardiovascular sense and the shin pain isn't overwhelming but... I want to stay ahead of it, so I'm going to visit the gargantuan Lemeiux Sports Complex next week.

But this blog isn't about shin splints. It's not about some huge medical hurdle or a triumph over my body. This blog is my journey to The 2018 Pittsburgh Half Marathon on May 6th, 2018. I'm going to get there, and I'm going to finish "upright and smiling". Ideally with a time under 3 hours but I'm sure as my training progresses I will adjust that downward.

For now, I'll leave you with a snapshot of my newest acquisition from my buddy Chris Downing 💜 Just arrived in the mail today, yaay! It says "I am empowered loved and inspired" - all true. All worth discussing - we will get to that!