Today, I’ll be running the Gasparilla Classic again for the third time. After completing the Gasparilla Michelob Ultra Challenge last year (all races for a total of 30.4 miles in 2 days), I signed up to do it again once registration opened. That was pre-injury.

A few weeks ago, I received the “it’s ok to go start back slowly” instructions from my podiatrist. I took that to mean, I’m healed. I felt good. Planned the following run with vigor. I was excited to get back to doing what I loved. What I soon realized was that I was very much not healed. My hairline fracture continues to rear it’s ugly head after every run.

I had to make a decision. Run or not run? I had to choose one of them since Gasparilla doesn’t allow for deferments. I had to be realistic. No chance I’d be able to complete the challenge without significant re-injury and undoing the healing process that had already taken place for the past 8 weeks. So, I decided instead to run the smaller of the two races, the 5K on Saturday and the 8K on Sunday.

So, it’s the day of the run. It’s cold (that doesn’t help calm an injury) and windy. I’m ready to slowly tackle the 5K, my first run since mid-December. A stupid move? Well, we’ll soon find out. And then, there’s tomorrow…