I'm Gonna Try to Not Be Such a Girl...

Today my #RWrunstreak ended. Let me explain.

During yesterday's Dirty Bird Trail Run after about a mile or so Ro sped off without us and Kim and I stuck together for the remainder of the miles. At the water stop we meet back up with Tim and ran and chatted with him for a few miles.

Here is something funny. This picture was taken yesterday...

This one was about shear and a half ago, same trails different day.

We had some interesting conversations on the trail. One was about injuries. Tim told us about how he has never suffered from a running related injury, he didn't even need to knock on wood after.

He had a very good theory on injury prevention. His thinking is pretty simple, if he doesn't feel good while he's running he stops. What a novel idea, to listen to your body, to not always push through the pain. To know when to say when and to be okay with it. To know that, as runners we are not defined by just today's run.

It seems so simple. Why is this such a hard thing?

I have had two runs in particular that I can say were my most horrible. One was durning marathon training, the second was when I had my stress fracture in March. Both times it was so hard to stop, even when it was insanely painful. I try not to think of it in terms of quitting, but that is just what it feels like.

Is it a girl thing? I think it might be. Why do we push ourselves so hard? Why don't we let ourselves off the hook? Why is it so hard to remember that one run, race or mile doesn't define us?

With this new thinking in mind, I decided to call it quits with the Runners World Holiday Running Streak. After running a marathon this weekend {I know it was over two days, but I think that's a lot of miles for two days} I meet Ro at the Y this morning for some cross training. I figured I would get my rest day one mile run in after I got home from work. The more I thought about it, the more horrible it sounded and the more my body was telling me that I just didn't need to do it. So I came home, made some pasta and have been watching tv with the family, just relaxing all evening.

Here is what I have decided I will do.

• Listen to my body, if it tells me that I shouldn't run then I won't, if it tells me to stop then I will. {This is going to be so hard!}
• Rest, I have a hard time embracing my rest days, I really need to get over that.
• Focus on cross training, weights will make me stronger even though I hate them.
• Become consistent with yoga. I am going to work very hard to keep doing Sunday night hot yoga, and Thursday night free yoga at Lululemon.
• Keep my fingers crossed that Patti keeps doing her Wednesday night Pilates class at OK Runner.

Running is fun, and there is nothing worse than thinking that everyone else is out running and having fun without me. My new goal is to help my body keep running for a long time to come. There is lots of pavement to pound, trails to cover and races to run. I'm gonna try to be a big picture kind of girl.

 

I didn't say it would be easy but I am gonna try.

 

Do you push yourself too hard? Do you try not to?

 

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