Questionable

So about two weeks ago, I developed soreness on my lower left shin.

Shin splint, I thought. No problem. It's always gone away in the past. I figured it was due to my slacking on some easy runs but keeping up my long runs. My shin muscles were getting shocked once a week.

This past Sunday morning: a planned run of 13 miles, the longest on the plan before the half-marathon on November 14. I preceded it on Thursday with a great (relatively ouch-free) 6-mile run through IU's campus. No advance of the shin soreness. On Sunday, I set out to get my 13. I figured the muscle soreness would fade as I ran -- endorphins, etc.

Only it didn't. It hung on like it was drafting me. I ran asphalt trail, concrete sidewalk, gravel / dirt / leaf-strewn trail, and road. At 12.4 miles, I caught myself limping.

I stopped. Six-tenths of a mile weren't enough to justify injuring myself further. I was about a mile from my brother's house, so I hobbled back.

That day and the next were painful. Enough so that I wondered if I'd fractured my tibia. But Tuesday was a little better, and today's better than yesterday. I think I may have just shredded the muscle-to-bone connections on that part of my shin, and they need some rest to reform. Which they're getting, though now I'm trying to walk more to keep things flexible. Pain's still there, but it's there for a reason, right?

So what about the race? In the NFL, teams list injured players as Probable, Questionable, Injured Reserve, or Out. Right now, I'm a solid Questionable for November 14. These two weeks are for tapering my workouts anyway, so I'm going to replace running with walking this first week. I'll run (easy pace) next week if the pain's subsided. If I'm able to start the race, I'll take it mile by mile.

If not, I'll move around the course to cheer Dave as he runs it.

What about you? Do you push yourself through injury, or back off your training? What have you done in the meantime to stay in shape?