I’ve blogged several times before about how one of my main goals is to continue the athletic lifestyle I’ve been leading, but to do it injury free. This means training slowly and building on past growth in a measured way. I am not 18 anymore, I can’t bounce back from craziness like I used to.
Up ’til this last month, I’ve done remarkably well for two years. Nothing debilitating, nothing that kept me out of races. However, I’ve now had a wiinjury to my back (4 weeks ago) and I’ve just discovered today that I yanked (not pulled) my right calf muscle. This is highly annoying. I have a triathlon in 5 days that is an exceptionally fun race but I now have to go day to day and wonder if I’ll be able to compete. The crux of the matter is that I’m training for a marathon in October which is by far more important than the triathlon. If I race the tri, I may end up causing serious damage to my leg which will set be back in my marathon training even farther than I already am, and I’m already too far behind.
It’s frustrating, but unfortunately this is part of what comes with being an age-grouper athlete. You have to pick your targets and train (sometimes rest and recuperate) to hit them. I’ll be disappointed if I have to forgo the race this weekend, but the marathon is more important. I’ll be there to cheer on Jenn no matter what my decision is. I’ll probably not make the decision until friday.
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