Trying to listen for once

Yesterday Jack told me that I need to take two weeks off of running to help take care of a nagging muscle strain in my left thigh. It was not what I wanted to hear. In fact, I didn't even want to talk to him about it because I knew what his solution would be. But, my muscle truly has been bothering me, so much so that yesterday after getting home from the first timer's run, I resigned myself to the fact that I would be logging some quality time on the arc trainer for the next couple of weeks. And then I woke up this morning...

I'd be lying if I said that when I woke up today, the first thing I thought to myself wasn't, "How long of a run should I do today?" The sun was slightly peaking out from behind light clouds and I could feel the unseasonably warm breeze coming through my window- the day was calling to me to get out there and run (it's funny how quickly I forget about things when I don't really want to do them). Of course, I'm not a morning runner, so, I put on my running clothes, threw on my trusty HC sweatshirt, and took my computer down to the coffee shop for some caffeine, a muffin, and some quality time with my mailing list of potential DFMC donors. After a couple of hours, I decided to head home and clean my room for a bit and then I'd head out on my run. It was noticeably colder on the short walk back up to my apartment than it had been only a couple of hours earlier. And by the time I finally felt like doing something active, it seemed that the temperature had dropped almost 15 degrees including the wind chill. It was downright freezing! I thought about my options, changed into sweatpants, tossed my shorts in a bag and headed over to the gym.

So, while my intentions were not good, I did end up following Jack's advice on the no running thing today. I put in a solid hour on the arc trainer, and I actually felt pretty good about it. While I was working out, I got to thinking about why I'm so stubborn when it comes to running. I mean, it's something that I complain about doing constantly, yet when someone tells me that I shouldn't do it, it's all I can do to keep myselt from tying my Asics up right then and there and going for a 10 mile run. I know part of my issue is that I have worked so hard to get into the running shape that I am in now that I'd hate to lose it, and somewhere in my head the ONLY way to stay in that shape is to keep on running- injured or not. Sure, I know that's not entirely true, but you try reasoning with my head.

Regardless of my crazy head though, I do recognize the importance of letting myself get better and not continuing to agitate my muscle until I make it much worse. I'm hoping that by saying here on my blog that I plan to take at least a week off of running (Jack said two I know... I'm taking baby steps here) I will feel accountable and I will actually do it. I can get some quality workouts in on the arc trainer (while trying not to go insane with boredom while I'm at it) and, hopefully sooner rather than later, my leg will be back to its good old self again and I will be back on the roads. Until then, I'll be counting the days that I'm stuck in the gym, and hoping that the weather stays unappealing enough not to tempt me to run.