The Numbers Game

Injury report from Day 9. I'm not proud to say that I've realized a large part of my chagrin at being injured comes from numbers rather than from anything real. Numbers as in mileage.

Perusing my running/workout log as I recorded my Saturday bike ride brought home to me how attached I am to meeting mileage goals. Never mind that my total for this year is now well above 700 miles, meaning that if I didn't run another step for the rest of the year I would still log the eighth-highest total yearly mileage in my 33-year running career.

That's not the point I go to. I go right to lamenting that I've run 20 miles or more for six weeks straight, and that my high-mileage streak just ended. I realize this, and then -- forehead-slap with palm -- I also realize why I am injured. Can I spell o-v-e-r-u-s-e? Not running a seventh 20+ mile week in a row is undoubtedly the best thing I've done for myself in a while.

In other news: Here's a link to exactly what I have run myself into: Piriformis Syndrome. (Love the illustrations, but not the syndrome.)

I met with my running friend L. yesterday, and her encouragement was wonderful tonic for what ails me. She said when she suffered a similar injury a few years ago, taking spin classes helped keep her fit and saved her sanity. So today at lunch I went to my overpriced gym and did 25 minutes of a 45-minute spin class (didn't want to start out too aggressively). The result was a nice endorphin hit, and no discernible pain in the butt (which is where the piriformis is, as you know if you followed the link above).

Assessment for today:
  • I'm off the mileage train
  • I'm all over the bike
  • my pain level remains about the same, and
  • I'm hopeful that the future holds healing for me.

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