Welcome to Week 6 of my BQ or Bust journey as I train for the 2024 Chicago Marathon with one big goal: qualifying for the Boston Marathon. If you're dealing with running injuries, wondering about injury prevention, or curious about dry needling, this week covers it all—including the stuff I almost didn't want to admit was happening.

This week brought some real challenges: 🏃‍♀️ Speed play sessions and solid time on my feet 🏋️‍♀️ Cross training and strength work keeping me balanced 🦵 My first long run of the cycle... followed by a little crash out ⚠️ Soleus and achilles swelling that I really didn't want to acknowledge 📍 Taking you inside my dry needling appointment

I'll be honest—I almost didn't want to talk about the overuse injury because admitting it's happening felt like failure. But as a coach, I know how important it is to show you the real process of catching and rehabbing pain early. When you listen to your body and act fast, these become small rehabs that require minimal time off instead of major setbacks.

Here's what I'm learning (again): injury prevention is tough, but body awareness is everything. Rehab isn't just about rest—it's about strategic soft tissue work and trusting your physical therapist to help you mobilize, stabilize, and strengthen properly.

This is the messy, real side of marathon training that nobody talks about enough. My mantra remains: WHY NOT. Why not face the hard stuff head-on? Why not show the full journey, including the parts that scare us?

🖤 The only way you fail is if you fail to try. WHY NOT?!

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🎥 Catch up on the series: 👉 Weekly "Run With Me" treadmill episodes every Friday 👉 Weekly roundup vlog + podcast episodes right here

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