Decision Time

I left my doctor's visit less terrified about my long-term status but no more encouraged about Saturday's race.  I trust my doctor because he happens to be a marathon runner; otherwise I wouldn't have bothered going to see him.  He poked and prodded my lower leg for awhile, did some x-rays, and informed that it didn't look at all like a stress fracture - but also said that he didn't see how I could run a decent marathon with shin splints.  Continuing the conversation, he stated the obvious - that I could sit out and rest and hop in another local marathon in February, such as Myrtle Beach, which had been my secret backup plan originally had I found myself in his office the day before the race.  We left the conversation as follows:

Him:  "My advice as a medical doctor is to sit out and not run for awhile.  My advice as a runner, knowing how much work must be put in for a marathon, is to give it a go if you feel you should but drop out if it doesn't feel better early in the race."
Me:  "That's exactly what I'm going to do - see if maybe it loosens up but I assure you I'll drop out if it doesn't."

Fast-forward to this afternoon, when I met Eggers at the convention center to go check out the expo.  I found myself wishing I had brought deeper pockets because they were carrying Nikes for 50% off.  We picked up our packets and did a test scan of our chips to make sure we were who they said we were - I didn't want to have that problem again - and looked around for a bit.  Everywhere, people were repping their running-related products.  We found a booth that said something like, "Hippie Running Inc." and a smiling girl that looked like...well, a hippie.  Eggers rummaged through a pile of head-warmers that had peace signs and various other symbols on them before deciding that they weren't warm enough.  We found the Charlotte Running Club booth and I met Aaron Linz in person for the first time.  Eggers asked him questions him about the club and the race and if he thought Jordan Kinley would have any competition in defending his title.  Aaron said he thought not but figured the half-marathon would be very fast, given the number of people also in town for the Cross Country Club Nationals to be held at McAlpine later in the day.  I told him that I was trying to run the race with severe shin splints, and he sheepishly wished me luck while adding that compression sleeves probably wouldn't do anything and certainly weren't worth forty bucks.  We joked about how everyone was telling me that Lance Armstrong ran his first marathon while suffering through shin splints.  Hey, if Lance can do it... I thanked Aaron for always responding to my e-mails and told him I thought the CRC was well worth the recently introduced membership fee.

After the expo, I headed to my parents' house to open my birthday gifts and eat a large pre-race dinner.  Those are all things that I enjoy - my parents, birthday gifts, and large pre-race dinners.  In lieu of pasta - thanks, Mom! - I had salmon, rice, a salad, and some bread.  We were scheduled to have a conversation about where I wanted them to show up to watch me at various parts of the course, and to have me detail a plan for them to travel around.  Instead, I decided I wanted them not far from the start of the race.  That way, if I had to drop out I wouldn't have to sit there and be carted around in a rescue vehicle; instead, I could ride around with my folks and cheer on my friends.  We set the Bojangle's at 3rd Street and Charlottetowne Avenue as our meeting point, at which I would either give them a thumbs-up or hop in the car.

Think about how absurd that sounds.  On my way home, I finally came to my senses, picked up the phone and informed my parents and my friends that I would not be racing.  I was obviously devastated at this awful turn of events but figured I'd rather run my first marathon at full strength.  Besides, I couldn't even run to the stop sign at the end of my street without tripping.