Sometimes a break is okay…

Alright so this post is more of a diary entry for myself. I’m going to take a pause on running for right now. I usually do best when I write things down and they tend to happen. For some reason my brain works that way. I need a plan, the exercises to do for my week, a plan going into teaching or coaching a class. I don’t know that’s just how I operate best and with a routine.

After coming off my best year ever I think fitness wise and running wise, I had some big plans for 2023 (all focused around running). Needless to say I was able to PR still in my UA Half Recap race. That was the last good effort of running I had until August of 2023. A lot happened that year, and I just had to pivot in life. That’s how my life has seemed to always go. A year of focusing on myself, then something else comes up and I go all in. In 2023 it was finding a job, and keeping myself busy. I was running ALOT, working out probably just as much as in college, and coaching, but I did not take care of myself at all.

I was consumed in the hustle culture for sure. The whole “no pain, no gain” thing I had engrained in my head. So if my body hurt or legs hurt, it was a sign of progress and I thought that is just some growing pains and I’ll push through it. Well, I did for almost a full year. However, at this point I think I did more harm than good just running on an injury for so long. The final straw came during January 2024, and I really went past my breaking point.

So this post is more for me, but a reminder to set myself up to actually stop trying to run and just focus on getting better. Keeping things low impact, and get myself stronger in whatever areas I need to.

I think with the start of 2024, I started off my spreading myself too thin. I committed to a lot, and I didn’t commit and dedicate myself to running and giving my body what it really needs. A break, stretching, treatment, and overall discipline. Lately, I’ve been out of a routine and running hasn’t been on my mind. I haven’t been able to do it, but I’ve wanted to.

However, things have changed and I haven’t given myself the proper warmups, workouts, and progressed myself like I usually do. I have some prior commitments now that I didn’t have in the past between gym times, my job, and a side teaching gig. Plus I haven’t been all that disciplined because all of my running goals got shoved to the side, when I realized I was to far off from reaching any of them this year. I didn’t give the sport the respect it deserves, and thought I was ready to cash in on my reserves. Well, I did in 2023 and they definitely ran out. I had a plan for every cycle, every couple of weeks, down to the morning or night of what I was to do. I got lazy, unmotivated, and there were no goals in sight.

With that being said it’ll be all low/no impact movements, strength training, rehab and keeping up my step goal till we are back. Who knows maybe even a PRP shot could be beneficial, but let’s see what some rest does for the body this time around. As of this post I was at an accumulated of 3,396 miles since 2021 until March 10 2024.