After running London last year, I’d thought that my races on behalf of Team Fox were behind me. I planned for my fundraising efforts to be focused on pancake parties and similar, less exhausting pursuits. However, when I saw that Team Fox had paired up with the San Diego Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon, I knew I had to lace up my running shoes one more time.

My fellow founding members of Team Merrie Miles, Susan McClellan and Patty Elkus, live near San Diego, and running a race in their area for a cause we all care about was too good of an opportunity to pass up. While neither of them were able to run with me, my cousin and Susan’s son, Ryan McClellan, will be joining me on June 5 to take on the San Diego Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon.

While this isn’t the longest run I’ve attempted on behalf of Team Fox, this is shaping up to be the most challenging. After a couple of weeks of training, I started to notice pain in my left hip. After consulting the internet, I concluded that the pain was due to bursitis–an inflammation of the area between the bone, muscles and tendons. From my research, I learned that I’d be uncomfortable but still able to run.

A couple of weeks later, I could barely walk. Finally, I gave myself over to the professionals at Tria for X-rays, an MRI, and some more educated guidance. Turns out, I’d torn my glutius medius, the muscle on the outside of the hip. I had to take more than two weeks off of training and then begin seeing a physical therapist. Fortunately, my PT laid out a plan to get me back to running and up to the starting line on June 5.

While my hip is much better, my conditioning is poor. Because I missed critical weeks in my training, I’m using a run/walk plan that liberally leverages walking when needed.

This weekend, I ran/walked over 9 miles–my farthest distance since London. I saw parts of Lake Harriet I hadn’t visited in almost a year.

Now, I’ve got just a week to go before the big race. I’m not going to set any records, but I promise my best effort for a great cause.

If you’d like to support my race by contributing to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, check out my fundraising page.