Appreciation Detour
All of you must be thinking that I fell of the the face of fantasmo because my training had amped up and I was too busy running all the time. If only that were the case. My training has taken a slight detour, and for the past month I have been busting my butt to find alternative ways to, well, bust my butt.
You see, shortly before the 15K race, I noticed that my right knee was giving me problems. However I popped a couple of ibuprofen and felt fine for race day. The next training day, however was another story. I knew something wasn't right and instead of trying to power through the pain, I immediately switched to intensive biking and swimming to lessen the impact on my knees.
Things seem to be recovering, but it has been very sloooow going. It has been the ultimate test in patience and a positive attitude, because no matter how much I try to see the upside of things, my brain will sometimes crawl to the dark hole of pessimism. What if... I feel as though I have so many eyes watching and supporting me, and I don't want to let anyone down. I know no one thinks that at all, so mostly, it is me that I don't want to let down. It must be the overachiever, A student in me. The more grown-up version of myself tells me that these kind of things happen, to keep my chin up and to put my best effort forward whether it's on the road, on a bike or swimming laps. It's the commitment that counts (but I really hate failing - really).
I have learned one thing from this little detour of mine: I hate bicycling. Now don't get me wrong, a Sunday stroll is quite nice, and I have never turned down an opportunity to hit a mountain trail, BUT pedaling for miles and miles is too tedious. I have a profound respect for those that can just go and go, because quite frankly, it is sooooo boring. How on earth is bicycling more boring than distance running, you ask? With running I feel like I'm getting somewhere because I can feel the effort immediately. I can smell the flowers as I run by. I can study the sky without having to worry about veering off into a telephone pole. Bugs don't careen into your eyes through that one tiny slit between your nose and sunglasses. Runners smile and wave back at you. Running makes me chill out and most importantly, you don't have to wear a helmet. After weeks of hard running, it was easy to forget most of those perks. So I guess bicycling has one good thing going for it - it made me appreciate how much I would have rather been running!
And that is where I stand in my training progress. After a short run, my knee still aches so on with the cross-training I go. Strength-training and pilates ahoy, with a side of more patience. And as an extra precaution, next week I shall talk to my doctor to make sure I'm not truly defective, at least not physically.
Happy running everyone! or pedaling! or paddling!
You see, shortly before the 15K race, I noticed that my right knee was giving me problems. However I popped a couple of ibuprofen and felt fine for race day. The next training day, however was another story. I knew something wasn't right and instead of trying to power through the pain, I immediately switched to intensive biking and swimming to lessen the impact on my knees.
Things seem to be recovering, but it has been very sloooow going. It has been the ultimate test in patience and a positive attitude, because no matter how much I try to see the upside of things, my brain will sometimes crawl to the dark hole of pessimism. What if... I feel as though I have so many eyes watching and supporting me, and I don't want to let anyone down. I know no one thinks that at all, so mostly, it is me that I don't want to let down. It must be the overachiever, A student in me. The more grown-up version of myself tells me that these kind of things happen, to keep my chin up and to put my best effort forward whether it's on the road, on a bike or swimming laps. It's the commitment that counts (but I really hate failing - really).
I have learned one thing from this little detour of mine: I hate bicycling. Now don't get me wrong, a Sunday stroll is quite nice, and I have never turned down an opportunity to hit a mountain trail, BUT pedaling for miles and miles is too tedious. I have a profound respect for those that can just go and go, because quite frankly, it is sooooo boring. How on earth is bicycling more boring than distance running, you ask? With running I feel like I'm getting somewhere because I can feel the effort immediately. I can smell the flowers as I run by. I can study the sky without having to worry about veering off into a telephone pole. Bugs don't careen into your eyes through that one tiny slit between your nose and sunglasses. Runners smile and wave back at you. Running makes me chill out and most importantly, you don't have to wear a helmet. After weeks of hard running, it was easy to forget most of those perks. So I guess bicycling has one good thing going for it - it made me appreciate how much I would have rather been running!
And that is where I stand in my training progress. After a short run, my knee still aches so on with the cross-training I go. Strength-training and pilates ahoy, with a side of more patience. And as an extra precaution, next week I shall talk to my doctor to make sure I'm not truly defective, at least not physically.
Happy running everyone! or pedaling! or paddling!
Comments