Counting Down

So here I am, two weeks away from my next doctor’s visit and a new set of x-rays that will hopefully show some signs of healing and give me at least a little better idea of when all this is going to be over. Let me tell you, it has been HARD. You don’t realize just how much you do on a daily basis until you can’t do much of anything. You also start to appreciate all the things you take for granted (and even complain about sometimes) when you’re healthy. I guess that’s one positive of all this, a new perspective. As much as I grumble about it every summer, what I wouldn’t give right now just to be able to go out and mow my yard! Being confined to the indoors and being dependent on others to help me do just simple everyday chores just hasn’t been fun. Thank goodness for Leslie, who has been a lifesaver during all this. I definitely owe her when I’m back on my feet again!

If a new perspective is one positive of this, a chance to completely push the reset button is another. In fact, the more I’ve thought about it here lately, this could be a huge blessing in disguise. As much as I’ve wanted to make some changes over the last several years (and known I needed to), I just never have been able to do it. I would think about it and talk about it while hurt, but as soon as I got back on my feet, I would fall right back into doing the same stuff, partially because I never got so out of shape that it took all that long to get back into it. However, when I finally get back to training this time, I’m going to be so out of shape, and equally fragile, that I’m going to be forced to take a very gradual, conservative approach. That will give me the opportunity to implement changes from the start, so when I’m finally back to a reasonable training volume my whole scheme will look different. It also means I’m going to have to be more dedicated than ever because I’m going to need all the help I can get from things like strength training, good nutrition, proper rest, etc. As Steve Taylor has always said, I’ve got to get to the point where it’s a lifestyle not just something I do for an hour a day.

In any event, when I look at this injury from that viewpoint, it really doesn’t seem so bad. I think it was going to take something like this (a potentially career-ending problem) to finally give me a wake-up call. I really hope from here on out I can approach my training from an “old enough to know better but young enough to still do something about it” perspective. If so, I think I can get back to having fun with it (another thing this has taught me is I really do enjoy the simple act of running itself, not just the competitive aspect of it) and also run fast again. Coming back from this is going to be a huge challenge, but huge challenges excite me and give me something to focus on, so I’m ready. Let the countdown begin!