The Reality Check

The problem with blogging is that at some point you will hit a creative wall and fail in your bloggity updates.  The problem with being a runner is that a some point you will hit a wall in your training and you will fail to keep up your training.  I don't actually like to think of it as a failure but more of the body and mind working together to force you to rest and recover.  After running two half-marathons on consecutive Saturdays, I can confess that I have hit that recovery wall.  This week I have not had the will to muster the strength to go run much at all.  This would be all and good if I didn't prop up the time off from running with a mango key lime pie from Publix nearly every night this week.  A runner is intimately aware of what his or her body can handle.  We know the sound of every creak and pop our joints make as we struggle out of bed.  We search out the familiar tightness in our calves as we stretch before a hard run.  We suffer every cramp and spasm to know when we start to break down.  We know our limits so that we can routinely test them and push past them on occasion.  My reality is that despite my best efforts, I'm getting older and it's getting harder to push my body to its limits. And this week I hit mine.  Hard.  I'm resting and trying not to feel guilty about it.  But in reality I know that I needed the rest.  So off to rest I go!