One of the goals of this blog to is document my changing relationship to running and how that relationship is a microcosm of changes I am trying to make in my life in general.  This past week has been a great example of how I am acting differently in my training. In the past an injury would have resulted in me doing one of two things. I’d have either (a) ignored it or (b) taken a little time off to recover, which would have turned into a lot of time off, which would have turned into months off and then, starting all over.

This time I did it differently.  I researched the injury as best I could, attempted to self treat it, and carefully monitored how long I needed to rest. Then, as soon as it started to feel the least bit better, I got back on the road. It’s a small thing, but staying on top of this with a focus of getting healthy and getting back on the road and then succeeding in getting back out there with only a week off is something I’m proud off. This week’s running has been tough, and I am definitely a little slower than I should be, but I didn’t lose much in endurance and I’m feeling great. I think I might even finally hit the thirty mile mark, which is a big deal for me.

The lesson? Stay focused on the long term goal and don’t get distracted, if you have to take time off, fine, but keep it to a minimum and don’t use an injury as an excuse to sit on your ass.