Saturday I didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning, because I knew I had to at least attempt a long run even after a less-than-stellar week of running. The plan was to shoot for 14 miles and—if I made it—continue marathon training for a week, and if not accept that I should drop down to the half-marathon. Unfortunately(fortunately?), I did make it. It was long; it was hard(TWSS). But somehow I pushed my tired bones along 14 miles in 2:18:17. I can only assume that my stellar diet is to thank.

Every time I workout, whether it’s running or going to the gym—no matter how long—, I need something sweet to get me out the door. It doesn’t matter if it’s 7am or 3pm. And I’m fine without coffee, but without sweets? Keep dreamin’. I recommend double chocolate oh baby bars.

After finishing 14 miles, I stopped and waddled(think John Wayne in a Western only painful and without the chaps) into my home, took a few swigs of water and then went for a sports drink:

Gatorade, soda—it’s all sugar anyway so what’s the difference? Besides, this drink tells me I’m a grown-up whereas the other one only makes me worried I’m going to sweat purple, so this seemed like the better choice.

It didn’t last long.

And then of course there’s the importance of vegetables…

Spinach on one leg and broccoli on the other, because variety is important in your diet. I’ve also learned that small vegetables like peas and corn are good, whereas clunky ones like green beans are not. These are really just a starter until I give in and finally go to take a cold shower, which by the way are as awful as they sound and never get easier no matter how many you do.

And that’s how I would eat differently on a day that I run 14 miles. I would also eat in bed, where I would watch 27 Dresses and do some reading for 8 hours because the thought of walking anywhere is not appealing. Marathoning is the sport of masochists.

Today’s post isn’t a recipe or about food. It’s about stubbornness ambition.

Besides cooking, my other favorite pastime would without question be singing loudly at my television during The Sing Off. Oh, and I also like running. Like, really like running. So much so that I signed up for a marathon in October.

I originally had planned to run the Providence Marathon in May. But the stars just aligned for me to run the National Marathon in Washington DC. Two other Providence bloggers, Becky and Lauren, also plan to run it so we can share long training runs. It’s also 3 days before my birthday which would let me fulfill a dream of running a marathon before I’m twenty something. Everything was going so smooth.…

But, as with all things in life, there’s been a catch.

A month ago, I started feeling pain in my shin. I tried ignoring it, hoping it would go away, and even ran twice on it. I couldn’t ignore it when it hurt to walk, so I stopped running completely but I still hobbled around the kitchen and even kept walking the 2.5 mile round trip to Whole Foods. After a few weeks, I could walk and use the elliptical machine without any pain. But a month out and I still couldn’t run.

So I saw my doctor, who just happens to be a sports doctor, too. He looked at it for 5 minutes at most and knew exactly what I had: Medial tibial stress syndrome and peroneal tendon strain. Like everything else in medicine, its bark is worse than its bite. He told me to rest while I’m at home, ice and stretch daily. Within 2 weeks I can probably start fast walking and running soon after that.

So what am I doing now?(yes, I know I have a slight obsession with bright orange) I’m working a way to squeeze marathon training into 8 weeks. I can hear my grandmother’s voice in the back of my head: “Your grandfather was a stubborn Pollack” and so am I. I’m determined to cross that finish line after 26.2 miles of strain and effort on March 26th. I’ll know if I have to say nay, but for right now I remain optimistic. I’m hoping their won’t be a “wannabe” in my title much longer.