Lesson for me

After last weekend's 50k, I am actually recovering quite well. Things are stiff, but I am still able to run and expect to feel at full bore by next week. The fact that I was able to run the race on very little training, no recent long runs and feeling, overall, a bit under the weather should be a lesson for me. Fitness does not get lost as quickly as one may think. Taking time off to let things heal and make sure minor injuries don't become major is much more important than the slight loss of fitness that the rest will cause. Furthermore, the fitness will come back quicker than the injury will heal if you don't let it rest. Had I just taken the down time immediately after my knees started hurting, I would definitely be even further along in my fitness goals than I am right now. However, I am well aware of how hard it is, mentally, to take that time off. The feeling that the results of my hard work are fading away and the difficulty of judging when the time off is absolutely necessary are the most difficult bits. There is always that line between the pain of building a stronger body and that other kind of pain, of tearing it down. In a way this issue echoes the whole reason I like running so much. The mind is capable of pushing the body much farther than one would think. However, it also must listen to the body as it can certainly push too far. Running along that, sometimes razor-sharp, edge is what ultrarunning is all about.