Obstacles

Today I went back to the obstacle course at Parcours Lake (alligator territory). Tuesday and Wednesday this week I had taken off from running. I walked my dog but otherwise just didn't feel healed up enough from this weekend. I'm showing signs of slow recovery: achey legs, tight heals, feeling tired, etc. I've been taking time off, using an electric massager and taking Ibuprofen when I think about it. I really think that the soreness in my legs is from doing so much off-path running. I run a lot on uneven terrain or in grass and it's just so much more of a beating.
But last night I walked Anouk and my legs felt better walking than they did just sitting around. I thought today I might try a short run and see how they felt. I mean't to run on the Beaver Lake path to give my legs a break but then last minute, turned the car towards Parcours. I set out a little after 9am and found more paths to run this time. I don't think I ran farther though than Monday because I skipped the first stair section of the trail and went staight into the forest. So whatever I skipped there, I probably made up for mid-way on the new paths I found.
I found my way back to the car about 10am. I was sweating something fierce and my legs were again, toast. I'm laying on my bed hours later (after cleaning the house too) and they still feel like dead weight. That trail is just full of jumping around roots, uneven path, rolling small hills where the ground has caved in and you're scrambling up or down moving soil, ... it's a beating!
I probably should have just gone back to that paved path and took it easy.
My plan was to run 6 miles this Saturday - about a day and a half from now. I am going down in milage before hitting 8 or moving up to 10 miles the next week. With how my legs are really slow to recover, I'm thinking that I should wait to run the 6 til Sunday, and even then, run it on a flat, paved course. Then, the next week I probably need to stick to doing 8 again and not push anything.
These are the obstacles I knew would come with just not being made to run. Going against nature - but that's what's fun about it as well. Doing something you are not sure if you can do.

Current Inspiration: George Sheehan

Bits I'm loving right now:

The common man reaches excellence by making demands on himself.

My legend will not be your legend. We are about the business of making a unique self.

The battle is never over. The war is never won. Today's bare landscape is always and ever the arena where I contend with myself. I say my prayers and go to combat.
No one else may be aware of this struggle.

The only true fame, is the inner celebration of yourself. Nothing else lasts. Legends are perpetually dying. They must constantly be revived. We must always be searching for the grail, never ceasing in our labors, forever on trial for our gift of existence.

People are always asking me why I run. I think that is a common question for a lot of runners actually. I see lots of blog posts on it. I think George Sheehan's first quote I posted is a great answer to why some people train to run. It's an answer that puts the question back onto the asker about themselves - what are they doing to make themselves excellent? Endurance can do that... enduring a serious illness, enduring a life-threatening circumstance, enduring difficult situations in life... can all help you to find your answer. I like to think that the demands we ask in our running schedules and endurance races whittle us down to our very selves. And there we have the opportunity to see who we really are.

Link to full article: Our Highest Need