Choices....UGH!

     I pay for the choices the I make.  I started following a Hal Higdon 1/2 Marathon training plan on Halloween.  This plan has me running Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with a longer run on Saturdays.  Resting on Sunday, Monday, and Friday.  I knew going in this would be hard for me.  Well, hard on my knees to be exact. 

     The 1/2 that I signed up for isn't until April.  My thought was to keep the miles low and run a slow steady pace.  Just to get used to the daily running.  And instead of running the schedule for one week slots, I would double them.  Two weeks of week one, two weeks of week two, and on.  Of course, as usual, I decided to go "that extra mile".  Why not throw in some speed work on Monday?  What could it possibly hurt?!  What could four 800's do?  I knew the possibilities.  Wednesday was brought to a walk.  Knees were sore and swollen.  Thursday morning was bad.  Looked like a 90 year old trying to get out of bed.  So, no walking or running.  But as usual, the pain went away as Thursday trudged along.  Now there may have been no running for a few days BUT, trust me, I still held my date with Tony every day!   

     Knee pain affects everything!  And damn it, sometimes the tendonitis and arthritis just decide to act up together!  I know the game well.  I've played it for years!  With all that being said.....I'm "back in the saddle" today!  So, I've made the choice that the every other day routine is 100% for me.  Occasionally, I can allow myself to run daily.  But for my body it can not happen regularly.  NO BIGGIE!  If I let this get me down, my goodness, I would have stopped years ago.  There is no excuse to stop.  One of my favorite sayings is "The only limitations holding us back are self-imposed."  You always can find ways to work around your true limitations.  But you will never work around the self-imposed ones.

     So, I've spent my "free time" looking into races for 2012.  Yes, even while in pain from running, I'm looking at races.  There is something comforting about racing.  The feeling that you get from the other runners is unmatched.  No matter what the length of the race.  What races for 2012?  You'll have to tune in tomorrow to see what choices I'm looking at! 



Day 2 - I'm thankful for Ice Bags and Tylenol.  You are my trusted friends.  We've had many long nights on the couch together.  REALLY, how would I get through the past couple of days without them?  ..............  I take the Tylenol VERY sparingly.