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| Credit: www.goneforarun.com Facebook page |
I've said it before; I don't know who I am when I'm not running. And yet I haven't been running. Because PF. And when I saw this image pop up on yesterday's Facebook feed, it spoke to me (even if ironically).
Long runs matter. For me, long runs are therapy. Personal time. Think time. Work it out time. Time I've needed very much in the last two weeks. And had my left heel not hurt so stinking much, to mitigate the stress of the last two weeks at work, I would have needed fifty miles on the road.
Coffee matters. No further explanation needed there.
So I did go long today. Six miles long. That's as long as I felt comfortable pushing my heel. They were six hard-fought miles, though. I'm not sure that I got any closer to accepting the things I cannot change, but I got a little closer to accepting that the conversations I have in my head while running long might be the best I can do with some of that work stress for now.
A One-Month Personal Wellness Challenge
The injury has set me back quite a bit mentally in other ways. I wasn't prepared to run the 1/2 marathon this weekend that I usually run in Indianapolis with my best friend, so I didn't go. I've justified it by saying that I'm resting from the injury, but I also know I'm not doing enough to heal the heel; I need to be consistent in icing, taking anti-inflammatories, stretching, wearing a Strassborg sock to bed, and trying out this new essential oil that's been recommended by a friend.
But I always do better when I've got a target, so I'm taking on a one-month personal wellness challenge. I chose a month because I've got one month until my Wellness Screening at school. Every year we get a weigh in with a BMI and a blood test and a flu shot and a whole host of other pieces of data about our health. Every year I tell myself I'll do something different. But a year seems like a bit too big of a bite (and it clearly is since I've only got a month left until this year's screening.)
So one month. Targets: Run, bike, or lift every day. Record and manage nutrition for all 30 days. Consistently treat the PF.
We'll see what a difference a month can make. Anyone else interested?
