Running Decisions

I have been the lamest blogger on the planet.

Because I’ve been a bit of a misery guts and preoccupied with being injured and not running, I’ve completely neglected my blog. I don’t think in my blog’s life I’ve ever gone this long without posting something.

I’ve had nearly 8 weeks to dwell on my injury and deal with the frustration of missing out on the two marathons I was training for and I think I’m over it . I’ve actually decided that given my injury rate I’m only going to run one marathon each year and it will be London.

While I’ve been moping about that I’ve also been taking myself off to CrossFit 5 or 6 times a week and without even particularly noticing I’ve actually learned to really love it. CrossFit suits me and my obsessive nature and it has also been a great outlet for all my rage and frustration about my injury.

The time spent on the sideline so to speak has made me realise that although I love long distance running, it doesn’t love me. It doesn’t seem to matter how much physio or rehab or stretching or foam rolling or massaging I do – if its not one thing it’s another and I’m sick of it.

When I run a few times a week and really go for it like I used to, those shorter distances keep me uninjured and I can maintain that. It’s the long distances that are taking the toll on me.

So I’m going to become a CrossFit junkie. That will be my main source of fitness for the near future and running will take the place of the “for fun” bits. For the meantime anyway. Probably the rest of the year until training for London starts in January.

Eight weeks off hasn’t healed my injuries, they are certainly improving but the healing process has a long way to go and the worst thing I can do is push it and take steps backwards. The best thing for me is a really long solid break from running anything further than around 10km at a time.

All these wise decisions are not in my nature. They have come about over the past week or so in talking to other runners far more experienced than I and a couple of professionals whose opinions I value greatly including my trusty old physio. However it was the visit to a sports specialist Dr today that sealed the deal.

I need other people to help me make decisions like this because left to my own devices I think up ridiculous ideas like earlier in the week when I wondered if I’d still be able to run the marathon with no running in the 14 weeks beforehand .. my head even surprises me sometimes. Anyway my physio shot that idea out of the water in one brief sentence.

So unless a miracle happens in the injury department, I am hanging up my racing shoes for a while. I will still do the shorter distances coming up in the fun-run calendar but for me not only the marathons but the half marathons are out too.

And I think I am actually really cool with that.

I think.

A bit.