The Fall, the Catch

My last post mentioned that my motivation gauge read low. It hasn't gotten much better, and with the onset of some minor aches and pains, it's gotten a bit worse. Last week i ran about 5 days out of the week which is pretty good, but while i should have ran saturday, my friend was in town and we did literally nothing but sit in my bed and play video games all day and late into the evening. There was a brief period where i coaxed us into doing a pushup/pull up workout with a deck of cards but otherwise i moved nary a step the entire day.

Sunday i met Sean for an easy-ish 10 on the trails. Having someone who can hold you accountable for making a trip out to run can go a long way for motivation. So at 2:00 i met him at a parking lot near difficult run and by 2:02 we were runnin’. The trail was very muddy after rain showers the previous night and while i recovered nicely from some close calls slipping and sliding, and even barely catching a sharp tree branch that would have pierced my heart, i finally took a crucial digger with 1 mile to go. Bloodied and muddied all over, i finished up the run still feeling pretty good.

Monday i awoke with stinging pain and noticeable tightness in my hip, and a sore dull feeling in the opposite ankle. After a lunch time lift i was trying to summon the will to run after work, battling the guilt that would inevitably ensue if i were to be a pansy and stay in my warm cozy bed the rest of the evening instead. Whether it was the case that I came to my senses and reached an emotionally intelligent level of perspective, or just that i found adequate enough justification for being a coward, i decided that it was unnecessary, and potentially detrimental to run with all of these aches and pains and instead spent some time stretching and massaging the trouble areas. Maybe i caught hold of my emotions and made correct steps to avoid looming injuries, or maybe i missed a day of fitness. Either way, the run tuesday went good as the hip discomfort regressed and today i am probably going to just stretch/massage and play it safe again.

The rainy, dark, chilly winter also seems to be sweeping in with a front of depression that I’m starting to fall victim to. I see naught but WoW and a constant battle to run in the many dark evenings ahead.

Will our lonesome and fearful hero let misery become of him? Will he rise to the challenges and bust out a 100 mile week not knowing the meaning of the word 'fear'? Find out next time!

-Kyle