To recap, on Christmas Eve, I ran 4 miles, was struggling quite a lot, and drove right to the doctor's office when I saw a large bump on my leg where there shouldn't be one. I was diagnosed with varicose veins and the doctor recommended compression socks and putting my leg up as much as I could.
On December 26 at about 12:45am, Chris and I drove to Philadelphia to catch a flight to Jamaica, where we had the chance to spend a wonderful week at Couples Swept Away in Negril in celebration of our 10th anniversary.
It was an awesome trip with amazing sunsets, a gorgeous beach, and delicious food and drink. It was exactly the week of relaxation that I needed and we had a wonderful time, but I was not planning on being idle. Our resort had a jogging track and what it billed as the nicest gym on the island, and I brought ample workout gear.
My first run in Jamaica was a 7-miler on Tuesday morning. It seemed to go decently; the heat and humidity was a challenge and my legs felt tired, but the compression socks seemed to do their jobs very well. I had planned on running mostly along the beach, but I found that it took three minutes to run the whole length of the resort's beachfront walk and I didn't want to bother other guests on their way to and from breakfast by running back and forth along the resort's busiest path, so I opted for loops around the half-mile jogging course. It was a nice place to run, but the repetitiveness did make me long for my Shuffle, which I'd left at home.
While the run went well, my weird vein problem bothered me intermittently throughout the trip, and when I went for what I hoped would be my "long run" on Friday morning, I had to stop after three miles when my leg was just hurting too much to continue.
I'd planned to run one more time (Yasso 800s) on vacation, but decided to bag it and rest. The leg bothered me intermittently throughout the trip. I didn't completely rest, though. I lifted three times on the trip, and the gym was very nice and lifting is much more enjoyable when you're basically outside. Still, I definitely feel like I gained 10lbs on the trip!
Relaxation and fun was the point and in that regard it was a complete success. I am nervous about my next run, which will be tonight, though. It was kind of vacation where I now feel totally out of shape, but I know that feeling will quickly pass if I can get back on the roads. However, I also know that if I'm not able to have a good January, the Shamrock Marathon is a really dicey proposition for me. I wanted to do everything right for this one and kick butt, but right now I'll just be happy if I can run it and finish.
My plan for tonight is just 3-5 miles, but I think it will be a key data point as I wonder how worried I should be about my leg and how challenging it will be to manage. My leg is elevated and my fingers are crossed!
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