I was severely depressed yesterday in missing my 20 miler that I looked forward to, but I know I did the right thing by skipping it. When you have reservations while getting ready and getting there … then feel pain in the first few strides … don’t continue. It was worth beating myself up all day. I’d rather miss one 20 miler and come back next week with it then put myself out and not do another 20 miler for 3 or 4 weeks, and threaten my ability to complete Steamtown. I think i’ve worked too hard for it.

So I got back out on the road today as my back felt better … It didn’t hurt today although it was sore. I cut that pace back significantly, to over a 10 minute mile, and stopping every mile and half or two, just to be safe. Again, my goal is to stay healthy and know when to say when. I intended to do at least 10 miles, and that whats I got in, 10 miles. I wanted to do more, but the body said to stop, I can make the miles up elsewhere.

I decided that since I missed my 20 miler this week, that I would exchange it with next week when I intended to step back from the miles. We’ll continue to take it easy through the week and probably head out on Sunday for the long run since I think I have to work Saturday morning. Its just a matter of being smart at this point, however i’ve still got to get through today .. what I mean is I have to ensure that the stress I put on my back today didn’t cause any problems (like it did in the wintertime), so if I cripple up into the fetal position later, thats not a good thing, so stay tuned.

I’m trying to analyze the cause of my pain in hopes of not making the same mistakes again. In looking back to this week, I picked up the intensity a bit in my runs, and did hills twice during the week, really punching it on Thursday, when the soreness begin (in the afternoon). In addition, i’ve been running in old worn-out shoes, which is just laziness on my part, I know better. I just didn’t get to the running store when I should have, thats a mistake I won’t make again. My old shoes were worn out, totally, I mean, totally. Other than that, I did sit in a weird position on Thursday at work when it started, so i may have stretched things an odd way, who knows.

So just like every other time I take a day off for injury, I contemplate my future in marathoning … I enjoy running, but not like I used to. I can tell that the marathon-fever has worn off somewhat because i’m not planning for next year at all. What I am considering is the triathlon … something different, something new … I mean i’m already in shape aerobically, but I think the added benefits of biking and swimming (which scares me) would be excellent to start the fire in me again … but we’ll have to see. We still have 13 weeks to go until Harrisburg, so turning back now isn’t something I’ll do, we’ll struggle through one way or another.

I do intend to keep the icing/heat mix, with ibuprofen, going for the next couple days, I also fell off the wagon yesterday eating due to my depression (although I didn’t really eat anything THAT bad) … Time to gear it up and get back on the horse!