At some point during the day, my ankle started aching. It felt as though I had sprained it recently, but I can't think of a moment when I might have turned it or twisted it or even bumped it up against something.
So the question I faced when I got home a bit gimpy was: am I hurt or am I injured?
If I'm injured, obviously, I shouldn't run. If I'm hurt, traditionally, I push through it.
But the question branches into a number of other questions, starting with: if I am hurt, might I become injured if I run on it, or might running on it strengthen it, loosen it up? If there is any chance of injury, should I risk it to maintain, or should I wait until tomorrow to run my more intense hill workout? Am I simply looking for an excuse to take an unplanned day off? If I take an unplanned day off, what's to stop me from taking my more intense run off tomorrow? Am I an awful runner and a regrettable human being? Should I just stop running altogether and focus on my television watching?
Ultimately, I'm choosing to err (I think) on the side of caution. I'm giving myself the day off today, even though that means I've run fewer days than I've taken off so far this year, which shames me at least a little.
Additional variables that I took into consideration were these: it's dark; it's cold; there are small patches of nearly invisible ice in the world tonight; the sidewalks are uneven; drivers are awful; one dog barking on such an evening might cause me to stumble.
I guess the ultimate test of my dedication would be if we owned a treadmill -- then what would I do? But we don't, and I simply did not have time to make it to the gym tonight. So your guess is as good as mine . . .
Year to Date Tally: see yesterday's post.
So the question I faced when I got home a bit gimpy was: am I hurt or am I injured?
If I'm injured, obviously, I shouldn't run. If I'm hurt, traditionally, I push through it.
But the question branches into a number of other questions, starting with: if I am hurt, might I become injured if I run on it, or might running on it strengthen it, loosen it up? If there is any chance of injury, should I risk it to maintain, or should I wait until tomorrow to run my more intense hill workout? Am I simply looking for an excuse to take an unplanned day off? If I take an unplanned day off, what's to stop me from taking my more intense run off tomorrow? Am I an awful runner and a regrettable human being? Should I just stop running altogether and focus on my television watching?
Ultimately, I'm choosing to err (I think) on the side of caution. I'm giving myself the day off today, even though that means I've run fewer days than I've taken off so far this year, which shames me at least a little.
Additional variables that I took into consideration were these: it's dark; it's cold; there are small patches of nearly invisible ice in the world tonight; the sidewalks are uneven; drivers are awful; one dog barking on such an evening might cause me to stumble.
I guess the ultimate test of my dedication would be if we owned a treadmill -- then what would I do? But we don't, and I simply did not have time to make it to the gym tonight. So your guess is as good as mine . . .
Year to Date Tally: see yesterday's post.
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