Akes and Paynes

I've reached that point again. The point that I always reach a few days before a half marathon. The point where I notice every little twinge in my legs.

Of course, the mature, sensible runner will recognize these twinges as a normal part of every day life, and just get on with things. Why worry about anything? It's perfectly normal for different parts of your body to give off little signals.

Hence my reaction....

Ohmygahd, my legs are falling apart! My knees are killing me, and I'm only walking uphill! Is that a hint of strain in my thigh? Must be IT Band Syndrome! Will I have to stop running? Get surgery? Need a leg brace?

... Really, it gets a bit out of hand.

This time I think I'm handling it pretty well. I'm only worried about my right hip, and only panicked about my knees briefly this morning, and I doubt anybody on the street even noticed. Of course, I've got a few days to go until the Brooklyn Half, so there's still a chance to build some real momentum.

The least helpful article I ever read said that it's imperative to run relaxed; that if you aren't relaxed, you can really injure your knees. This leads to a little voice in my head that say, "Relax, dammit! If you don't relax NOW you'll injure yourself SEVERELY, and will screw up your body for the rest of your LIFE! So RELAX IMMEDIATELY you fool!"

This doesn't help.

Despite all of this, I'm really looking forward to the Brooklyn Half. I hear it's really fun, and I live close to the Q train in Brooklyn, so I'm already most of the way there. What's a little case of nerves?