i worked hard enough to see glimpses of what i am capable of only to get an over-use injury that will have me taking my 1st DNS (did not start). such is the plight of the endurance athlete i suppose. we must delicately balance on the fence between too much and not enough and find the zone that gives us the most return without going overboard. i went to the edge and fell off. i wouldn't say i went nuts and jumped off but i sort of lost my footing a bit and stumbled slow-motion downward.
the good news is.... i still feel stronger than ever. i went for a short 10k run yesterday and effortlessly crushed my "race" time there. I was just taking things easy and enjoying myself and arrived minutes ahead of my all out pace from just months ago. my knee still let me know that it wasn't 100% but it's on the mend.
this whole "overboard" experience has been a much needed wake up call. if i don't address my poor core strength and flexibility i am going to continue to be plagued by injury. to be honest, it's probably a miracle i made it this far along without hurting myself.
awakened, i look at things a bit differently. i am going to need to recalibrate the training schedule to include a bit less running and more core and hip strengthening. i am going to need to spend more time stretching and working on overall flexibility not just on the areas that are sore all the time. in short, i need to join the wife for a yoga and/or pilates video a few days a week. gah, it kills me just thinking about them! why? because they pick on the parts of me that are the weakest. like it or not, i can't go to the next level without addressing these weak links.
HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
