Easing Up

I ran seven miles a week ago Tuesday. Lately, I've been running Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, but last week I did not run Wednesday. On Thursday, I went out and ran six miles and with 15 miles planned for Sunday I'd wanted to get in a short run on either Friday or Saturday.

I didn't run after all on those days. And after my 15-miler, I haven't run since.

No, I'm not injured. But I am listening to my body.

My heel discomfort has been back... it really never went away, just sort of lingered in the background. But since I've been running five days and cracking the 30-mile mark each week, the increased stress on the heel has not gone unnoticed. I feel like I walk normally but Mrs. LB constantly asks me if I'm okay and tells me that I'm limping. It's not really a limp but I do walk differently.

The constant pounding I put my feet through makes my heel flare up. It's not unbearable pain - it's really not even pain - but I do feel something in my heel.

So I've had to ease up a little bit. It's a reminder though that what's most important to me is not necessarily the goals I set or the number of days I run. It's just having the ability to run. Injuries are no fun and sitting on the sideline is not fun. I sat out a week in June because of this same heel issue and that week was not a fun one. And if, heaven forbid, something drastic were to happen, it would mean a prolonged period of time away from one of the things I love most.

I rest, take it easy and don't force anything. Sure, taking a complete rest might help put this behind me, and I'm talking about a full month off from running. While I can't do that right now, what I can do is to listen to my body take my foot off the gas pedal and go from there.