Managing the Macho

I’ve been struggling lately. Struggling with what I think I should be doing, versus what my body thinks I should be doing. We distance runners have a very good habit of bullying through … EVERYTHING. Like how many times have you said these things:

-I’m so tired, but the schedule says I have to do X amount of miles.
-I don’t feel great, but I signed up for the race, so I’ll just do it.
-How sick is too sick to run?
-My knee is ok as long as I take Ibuprofen twice a day and ice it all the time.
-I kind of feel like I might puke, but I need to get these last couple miles in.

Or the one I said to myself a few weeks ago…

I’m signed up for the half marathon but I’d rather do the full.

So, I went out on a run trying to figure out if my body was ready for a full marathon. Because my head would so much rather do the full than the half marathon I was registered for. I took off on some of my favorite trails and was having a lovely run. But somewhere around mile 10 I noticed that I was pressing onto my hip flexor with my hand without even knowing I was doing it… I stopped running, stopped my Garmin and had a tough love conversation with myself (it may or may not have been out loud… don’t judge me).

Facts

-Just a month ago I ran the longest race/distance I have ever run

-When I finished that race, my right hip flexor hurt so much I couldn’t really use it

-That 50 mile race WAS my Spring goal race

- If I run the half marathon I get to watch my friends finish!

-I don’t ALWAYS have to run the longer distance.

Wha?

I DON’T ALWAYS HAVE TO RUN THE LONGER DISTANCE

My hip flexor still wants to be babied. So, maybe I should just baby it. Maybe I should just run what I feel like running for a while without justifying it to the Macho. If I run a 17 mile week, who actually cares? Just my Macho, that’s who. When I uploaded my run data from my Garmin I could actually see where I changed my mind. My paced slowed and I remember feeling relieved that I had made the choice. After the run I got so excited that I texted my friend

Just when I think I have myself and my running figured out I learn something new. This might be one of the first times that I’ve chosen the Smart instead of the Macho, but I’m hoping it won’t be the last.