It's unfortunate that moving a leg forward is a critical success factor for running. And walking. And climbing stairs. It appears that the general pain and soreness I've been experiencing during recent runs has coalesced into sciatica or something similar. These recent runs have become more and more painful, so much so that I took today off. It's the first off-day in over a month. Pretty drastic, eh?
This is all a bit of a shame for several reasons.
1) I should be in peak condition now - in the past, when I've peaked for a marathon, my best running often came a couple of weeks after the big event. That's where I thought I might be these days. It ain't happening.
2) The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. I love to run on cool, crisp days like the ones we've been having. But it's hard to love your run when you're in so much pain.
3) I'm getting sympathy from my friends. I understand that this is out of love and concern for Dear Old Dan, but I'd much rather have their admiration for my greatness. (This is a kind of a joke, you know.) But even though I have so much trouble keeping up, it's still good to be with them. After Friday's failed attempt at a long run on Lester, I ran with Dave Gajewski and Larry Orwin on the Towpath, and then with Kelly Parker and Debbie Hicks on the Chippewa Inlet Trail.
I just hope I'm not on the wagon too much longer.
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| Chippewa Inlet Trail |
