and then there were TWO

Back in April or whenever it was, there were four of us here at work who were officially running the marathon. We've kept up with each other over the training season. Two of them ran last year (including my boss) and I was able to spot them at one of the most crowded spots on the course as I volunteered. Anyway...about 4 to 6 weeks ago "C" showed up to work with crutches. I'd run into her on the lakefront path during one of my long runs the week or so before and in quick passing she'd mentioned some soreness after her last run. Well that soreness turned out to be a stress fracture just a week or so later. Her best prognosis was possible getting the cast off and hoping to possibly return to training with three or so weeks left. That verdict? No. Her body isn't ready, and even though the cast/boot is off, long walks have been difficult. Running the marathon is out of the question.

Today "M" informed us that her hip flexor is extremely painful and she has limited range of motion. A week or so ago in her 18 mile run she had to call it quits at 7 miles. She's really unsure if she will be able to run or not, but remaining hopeful. X-rays are fine, so an MRI is next.

Sigh. This leaves two of us, me and "A" that are for sure healthy and ready to "toe the line." It reminds me of one of the most important training goals: Being healthy enough to get to the start line. I hope "M" makes it there. I am reminded of how tough training can be on anybody's body, especially a non-professional, amateur, part-time "athlete" like myself, and that you can still do everything right and if the smallest little imbalance of something occurs, that's it.