So it's entirely possible my leg has died

No, I'm not serious.

At least I don't think I'm serious.

But last night, I had an absolutely, no-holds-barred, grade-A-for-AWFUL run.

My left leg, the knee of which has been talking to me for about a week, felt completely horrible from my first step. It was as if that one leg carried the weight of both. (And with my ample thighs, that's heavy stuff.) I hadn't run in almost a week (last Saturday's run/walk 5K) and I was desperate to get back into the routine. I also wanted to get in a wee swim, so although it was a lovely day outside, I did my run on the indoor track at the Vaughan Center. One mile = six laps. After the first four, my leg was kicking my ass.

I walked a lap. Ran three more. Walked half a lap. Waited for sweet sweet death. Ran a bit more and gave up at 12, for two miles.

I can't remember the last time I gave up at two measly miles!

So now I'm a little paranoid, because Sunday is one of my favorite races - the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago. It's an 8K, so not an easy-peasy three-miler like last week. No, this one takes me almost five miles through the city, and it's my redemption run. In 2011, I was injured and couldn't run it. Last year, I did it and it felt amazeballs. This year, I just really want to do it again! So hopefully there's nothing really wrong with my leg (it doesn't really hurt to walk, per se, though the knee is still tweaky and the plantar fascia still hurts in the morning) and I'll be able to make it all five miles. (Secretly, I'd like to beat last year's time of 1:06:21, which is about a 13-minute mile.) But just finishing is enough for me right now!

To be fair, I didn't really let the bad run get me down. I finished my two, then put on my swim suit and swam 500 meters. (Not far, to be honest; just ten lousy laps.) So at least I didn't throw in the towel entirely, right?