Stop.
It's a pretty obvious sign. As a driver, I see it every day countless times. It always means the same thing:
Stop.
Sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's tough. Most of the time it keeps me from getting where I want to go as quickly as I want to.
While sometimes its painful.
It's necessary.
As a runner, it's both painful and necessary for me right now. Six weeks ago I killed an awesome 18-mile run. I ran 18 miles in a few minutes faster than I ran 17 the weekend before. I felt amazing. I felt on top of the world. In preparing for my upcoming marathon (Indy Monumental), I was beginning to think that I could do it.
Near the end (sometime... I'm not really sure), I strained a tendon in my ankle. At the time, I thought it was just the aches and pains that come with being a long distance runner (after 18 miles, things hurt). But in the next few days, I realized that it was more. But I tried to continue...
For the past six weeks, I've been nursing it along... trying to hold on to this marathon cycle. I've been icing it, elevating it, resting it, wearing a brace for it, everything you can imagine. Saturday it came to a breaking point: If I couldn't do the 15 miles that I had planned (so I could still get a couple 20's in), it wasn't going to happen.
After a few miles it became apparent: stop.
So I am.
I'm going to stop. I'm going to rest. I'm going to allow my ankle to heal the way I should have 6 weeks ago.
I'm hoping to get back out there in time to do a turkey trot (on Thanksgiving) but for now, I'm not thinking about that.
Keep running friends!
JC
Tweet
