Bum Leg getting X-Rayed

Well I decided to see an Orthopedic doctor and find out what the hell is going on with my left shin. I haven't run since Monday but can still feel an occasional twinge of pain from my leg. It does feel better than earlier in the week, but there's obviously something still wrong. I've internet researched it into the ground and it seems to be one of two things-- shin splint or stress fracture. The symptoms of both are very similar, so I can't tell by web self-diagnosing alone what is going on. I decided rather than sit around and do nothing, I can at least have a doctor tell me what's wrong and advise me on how to proceed.

I'm very bummed but trying not to get too down about it. If it's just a splint, I should be good to go again after a couple of weeks. If it's a fracture though, it'll be two months or more off, which means I'll probably lose all of the conditioning I've built up for myself to this point. I'm kicking my own butt for continuing to run on it when it first started bothering me. I should've stopped then but nnnnnoooooo, I had to keep going. All I managed to do was delay my healing time. GGGRRRRR!

I try to remind myself that I went six months without running at all while pregnant, and I still managed to kick myself into gear enough to do the half marathon nine months later. No matter how long I'm off of it, I intend to keep my fitness up with weight work and biking, swimming, elliptical... anything to keep my heart strong. Who knows, maybe I'll turn out to be a better runner with all this cross training. It's just so frustrating though because I worked so hard to get to this point and I don't want to have to start all over!

I won't let this deter my marathon dreams though. I'm going to do what I have to to get this leg healthy again, and I'll s-l-o-w-l-y reenter my training, stopping at the first sign of any reoccurance. I have 5 months before I need to start serious marathon training, so that's plenty of time to get back into shape (assuming I can get going in a couple of weeks, that is). Even if it turns out to be longer, I'll stay steadfast and determined to press forward.

here's to hoping it's a splint...!