At 12:01 a post was auto published. By 3:30am I had removed it. (although I'm guessing you can still find it in your google reader. And thats okay.)
I've never deleted something I published before, but I guess there's a first time for everything. I woke up last night thinking about that post and I decided if I was unhappy enough about it to lose sleep over it then I should take it down. I pulled it down and then promptly fell asleep.
This morning I received several emails and comments asking about it. I didn't feel like I expressed my feeling properly. The post came off sounding rather negative which was opposite my intentions. So I will try again:
KNOCKED DOWN AGAIN:
It seems like every time I get some momentum going on my marathon training, I get knocked back down.
On Tuesday we ran 18 miles on the treadmill (crazy, I know). By mile two I knew that something was wrong with my knee. Instead of being smart and calling the run, I went ahead and decided to suck it up. By mile 14 I was in tears. And I ran (hobbled) the remaining miles, crying as I went.
Its dumb to run through that much pain.
As a result of not listening to my body, it is now painful to even walk.
What did I gain? Sure I can brag about running 18 miles, but who cares if it means I have now missed two runs because of it. Was it worth it? Absolutely NOT.
I think one of the hardest things for us to do as runners is respect our bodies.
We pour time and energy into properly fueling and hydrating it, outfitting it with the latest gear and researching ways to be more efficient.
But when our bodies protest all the miles, do we listen?
I know I rarely do. I've admitted that (due to a nerve issue in my heel) I run with pain almost all the time. In fact, in the last year I have had *TWO* pain free runs.
And yet I continue to run.
If I had to guess, I'd say the left heel pain has altered my gait and caused my left knee to be overloaded. Of course increased miles and not enough warm up/cool down have to be factored in. It seems to be my IT band. I expect a few days rest, along with icing it and stretching should clear it up.
This time I am listening to my body. It says "STOP", so I have stopped.
Today is day 3 with no running.
*fingers crossed the knee feels better for a weekend run*
So, while I have been knocked down AGAIN with an injury. I AM NOT OUT!
I am learning to respect my body, afterall... .its the only one I have and without it there is NO way I can cross that finish line.