On Injury & Mindset

It's been far too long since the last post, so I thought I'd do a quick update on what's happening with me right now (for those who really care).  Probably just a lot of non-sense, but that's what a blog's for, right?!

It's been a month now since The Bear, and in case you're wondering, yes, my shin is still swollen.  I had major tendonitis in it - where it hurt to even walk - for about three weeks following the race.  Walking around a work conference in New Orleans for four days immediately following the race was comical, to put it lightly.  However, I've added a few short runs in the last week or so and I think it's finally coming around.  I also had the opportunity to crew and pace my buddy Matt Williams at the Pony Express Trail 50 miler on Friday.  The good news is that it didn't bother me one bit during the run.  The bad news is that my legs are sore from 15 miles of pacing.  Looks like it'll take a little time to get back up to fitness, but I'm ok with that.

Having so much down time has really put me in a strange mindset, however.  I don't have a routine by any means, but I feel an absence when such an enormous piece of my life (or two) has been missing.  Now just trying to get out the door takes major effort; mental effort, mostly.  So this week I'm pushing to run 4 days which I'm hoping gets me back to some sense of normalcy.  I hope to see the fitness come around with that as a result.

These last few weeks (and months) have really got me thinking about mental focus and it's role in endurance activities such as ultrarunning.  As I've experienced in my life, focus in training is just as important as focus during a race.  My training focus has been all over the map this year.  There's been some very intense, focus-driven workouts, but I've certainly had many days where I just didn't want to do anything; so I didn't.  Everything came to a head on race day though, as my weak focus weighed me down in the early stages, then completely diminished at mile 70.  My physical, and especially mental training, didn't properly prepare me for the demands I would see on race day.  Don't get me wrong here, I'm very pleased with the result I had on race day all things considered.  However, I know that with proper focus - especially on the mental front - I can achieve results that fall more in line with what I'm capable of.  (That, and a brighter headlamp so I don't smash my leg into any large rocks next time.)

The question now is, am I willing to put forth the necessary effort to achieve the goals I set out for myself?  And in the grand scheme of things, how important are those goals in my life?  When it all comes down to it, it's all about priorities.  Good thing it's the off-season and I have some time to prioritize my life and my goals for next year.  Here's to happy running!