At a Stand Still...

Yesterday I had a 5 mile run and from the very first step my left leg was in a lot of pain.  I was hoping that as I ran on and got warmed up the pain would start to feel better as it usually does, but it continued to hurt, I even stopped to walk a couple of times.  I am really concerned that it's not just soreness but that I may have injured something.  I have been icing the two areas that hurt and started taking ibuprofen for inflammation hoping that these two things will help.  I rode a stationary bike this morning for about 30 minutes and it didn't hurt at all during, but afterwards it was still really sore.  I will see how the weekend goes and then possibly go in to talk with a sports doctor to see if it's something I can run through or if I should skip the marathon.

Trying to think about why I might have injured myself and I am thinking that it was because after my 18 mile run which was the farthest I have gone, I didn't allow enough recovery time and my fist run back included 4 miles of hard running, and a couple of days later another run that included speed work, both of which could have caused a slight tear to get bigger, or could have caused a strain.  This whole process continues to be a learning experience.  I am trying not to jump to any conclusions yet as to whether or not I will make it to the marathon.  It is extremely frustrating to think that I may have just trained for the last 5 months and then not be able to run the race.  Time will tell, I will continue to ice and rest and hope for the best, and if this race does not work out I know that it's all just part of the master plan and I will plan on completing one later on in the year.