This is probably my lowest point since I started running. Tonight I almost didn’t bother going at all. I was tired and cold and thoroughly fed up with these ‘ribcage stitches’. I’d also raided the biscuit tin this afternoon and gobbled up about 20 of ’em before forcing myself to put the lid back on. Yeah, it was miserable. I wondered what the point was of getting togged up and venturing into the freeze just to feel frustrated, In the end I went because I recalled something that Hal Higdon said in one of his emails at the end of the first week’s training. I just dug it out, and is worth repeating here:
There’s a difference between “training” and simply “running” or “jogging.” A lot of people play at running, going out for an occasional run on weekends, if the weather is good. Sometimes they’ll run three or four days in a row–then skip several weeks before running again. But that’s not training. Training is when you follow a schedule, such as this one, where each day has a purpose. If the weather is bad, you still run. If you have important business, you simply rise an hour early to run….
So I did run. And yes, I ran for the entire 3 miles this evening, even though I was still feeling the pain. I just decided to run through it and hope for the best. It meant running very slowly at some points (it took me 45 minutes in all – a pathetic rate: fortunately I’ve no interest in clock watching at this point), but at least I kept going. But it’s getting bloody annoying this. I have to get a medical opinion. It’s my only hope. In the meantime, I train on.
