I've said it time and again on this blog. When it comes to smart training, I'm not always the brightest crayon in the box.

I get impatient with setbacks. I sometimes push too hard too fast. And I really don't like skipping or cutting back long runs even if I probably should.

Saturday's run is the most perfect example of this. I had eight miles on the schedule and I was pig-headedly determined to run all of them.



Now you may remember, last week I had a wicked sinus infection. I was down and out, not able to do much more other than struggle through work and then curl up in bed when I got home. It was miserable, and as a result, I hadn't run in at least 10 days.


I'm still taking these massive horse pills to knock it out

So it might not have been the smartest move to make an eight-mile run my first run back.

But I did it anyway.

With the Nike Women's Half only a few weeks away, I was getting nervous the skipping another long run would set me back even farther. I'm worried enough as it is that I'm going to struggle to finish the race because I'm horribly under trained.

So I wanted Saturday's run to prove that I could manage.



So yes, I did all eight miles -- even though my chest burned from the effort and my nose ran like a faucet the entire time. Even though my legs were so tired that I could have stopped after four miles.

And what was the result of my running idiocy?

Such bad shin splints that walking was painful for the rest of the day Saturday, and I had to slather Icy Hot all over them before bed.

I actually think the shin splints may have been a result of doing the run in a pair of shoes that needs to be retired, but either way they were extremely painful.

The sad part is I was still really glad I did the run and got the mileage in. It might not have been pleasant, but it was a reminder that I still have a good base of fitness and I should be able to finish the Nike race.