Spring 2018

I missed running on the first day of spring this year. I regret it. One of the things I love about running is that it keeps my mind aware of natural cycles. I've noted many times that I see more sunrises in a couple of years' distance training than I did in my entire life prior to returning to running. The sun's rays lift my mind from its sleeping darkness and almost always drops my pace by a minute or two. I follow the moon's wax and wane each month, celebrating the full moon and embracing the darkness when it is new. Each solstice, I prepare mentally for the lengthening and shortening of the days. Long days mean warmth and longer runs as I do not lose as much morning time planning what to wear in the cold and then putting it on. Each equinox, I celebrate the arrival of spring or steel myself for the mental and physical stress of running through the winter. The passing of each year presents the previous twelve months as a challenge to improve upon and surpass them in the next twelve months.

For me, the word "injury" is pretty much "the name that shall not be spoken". I monitored the sensitivity in my left heel but did not refer to it as what it is. The soreness after last Sunday's 12 miles constrains me to acknowledge it as plantar fasciitis and decide to stop running for one or two weeks. Mercifully, my arches and calves are very strong. This strength acts as a natural shield against significant injury. The pain is very mild and has mitigated substantially after just two day's rest.

The sun's northbound crossing of the equator marks a day of private celebration and the anticipation of many mornings of long, sweaty, shirtless runs. Instead, I do the "push" phase of my split strength training routine. I console myself that the usual brakes I put on working my quads and glutes can come off: I will not need fresh legs to run.

Since getting back into strength training in a serious way, my time spent not running due to some ache has diminished substantially. But every time I do take a break, I promise to come back stronger.