I seriously didn’t mean for my lack of running the last half of the week to contribute to my lack of blogging.
But, there really wasn’t much going on in my world.
Just lots of sparklers and the best sugar cookies ever<<
The story is: I woke up Wednesday morning ready to relax and enjoy my cardio off day, except that I also woke up with a pain on the outer, lower side of my right knee.
Now, knee pain is completely new to me. I mean, I’ve had pain just about everywhere else except my knee in my 5 years of running.
So, I figured it was a good thing I had an off day.
I foam rolled some because I’ve slacked and my IT band has tightened up a little, and then I iced hoping for a better day Thursday when I was scheduled to do 5 miles.
I woke up Thursday still achy.
So I took another day off.
Repeating the recovery process.
Friday was 3 miles, but my knee was still sore and Music Man had some fun planned, so he told me to take it easy that morning and skip my run.
I didn’t even hesitate.
Then Saturday-long run day-rolls around. I was tired from the day before, but I had thought I could manage a run.
No. Such. Thing.
That 8 miles? Didn’t happen. My leg, though better, was still a bit achy and I really didn’t want to push anything.
So I skipped 16 miles of running last week.
Which is a lot if you’re training for a marathon.
I’ll admit. I was tired. I was cranky. And I was really bummed about not running.
But in my “process of recovery” learning, I was trying to understand that if I ran on the pain, I could not be running for awhile.
Skipping three days of workouts is better for the long run than missing weeks or months of running.
Wouldn’t you know that others agree?
Stop running for at LEAST two days if you feel persistent pain after running. If you feel pain after a run (deciding whether it is soreness or pain is up to you) then take at least 2 days off and if the pain isn’t gone then take another two days off.
(Hungry Runner Girl<< has a great post from last week about injury prevention<< and it’s a combination of her tricks and tips from Kara Goucher’s “Running for Women” <<)
I guess skipping out on a run or two due to pain isn’t a bad thing.
At least not for my body. Maybe for my mind.
And Music Man since he’s the one dealing with my crankiness.
But, I realized that recovering for a few days isn’t a stopping point for me.
So I had a little pain last week.
Did I cancel my marathon plans?
No.
1. Because it’s not some crazy, serious, life threating/leg debilitating injury
2. I am learning how to recover well
3. I am learning what pause means
Listening to my body as I run and taking time to recover is all part of enduring.
Yes, I would love to be able to run 6 out of 7 days a week, but my body isn’t built for that. At least, maybe not yet.
As I’ve said, running comes hard for me. It’s something I have to push myself to do.
But it’s also something I have to teach myself to back off from sometimes.
C’est la vie
The good Lord knows my life has been and will continue to be full of obstacles, just like my running journey.
That’s why I persevere.
And during or after each obstacle, I try to give myself some rest.
To step away from the issue. To find time to pray and meditate.
Often times I run.
But sometimes, I just have to forget about my finances for awhile. Or completely stop thinking about where our future will take us in four years, two years, next year.
All the while knowing that obstacle, that pain, is not a stopping point.
I haven’t given up.
I won’t give up.
I’ll keep running.
I simply—pause.
Passing the Baton: Do you find it hard to pause your training for a few days? To stop moving and just relax, ice, recover, and heal? What about in life? How do you get away from the issues that might be dragging your mind and spirit down?
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Seek Peace. Choose Joy. Life Faith.
