Too Much of a Good Thing

I suppose most reasonable people will say that it is possible to have too much of a good thing.  Recently, I’ve been having too much of a good thing, which is no good at all.  When you indulge yourself in excess things start to break down, whether it is spiritually, mentally or physically.  This breakdown is not necessarily limited to you.  As you engage in whatever this good thing is, often times it involves other people.  They can be affected by your pursuit, especially if they share in it.  This good thing could turn into something painful and isn’t pain a warning that you are reaching a critical limit?

The key is moderation.  Moderation keeps you wanting more.  It brings you back to the table saying you haven’t had your fill and excited for your next serving.  When you engorge yourself all the time, things start to get uncomfortable.  When you find yourself in that situation it is time to back off, whether you want to or not.  You just have to pay attention to the signs.

I’ve been running very well lately.  I am spiritually and mentally strong.  I suppose I am getting stronger physically, but signs are appearing that I am beginning to do too much.  My shins are aching again and sometimes when I run it just feels jarring.  I need to back off before this becomes injury.  It’s just so hard to do when the running brings such solace.

The winter has been treating me well so far.  I haven’t minded it at all.  I am not ready for it to leave, but perhaps this is too much of a good thing as well.  It’s been icy and snowy at times and with the amount of mileage I am putting in, it is only a matter of time before I slip, fall and possibly hurt myself.  I’ve always liked being out in the harshest of conditions, but perhaps it would be better if the temperature warmed up and I could start running again in shorts and t-shirt.

 It’s been a week since a winter storm dump a foot or so of snow in NYC.  On the day of the storm, I was a trooper and went into work.  The office was dead quiet and I was able to leave around 1:30pm.  I was very happy for this; as I was able to get home in time to do a run before the sun set.  I met my friend @aristorat around 3pm and we headed out for a 3 loop run of Prospect Park during the blizzard.  People were amazed that we were out there running.  To me, it felt like a perfectly natural thing to do.  It was tough going at times, but definitely one of the more enjoyable runs.  The only problem I had while running was gaining traction.  However, this had more to do with the fact that I wrapped duct tape around my sneakers in order to keep my feet warm.  The tape on the bottom of the sneaker caused me to slip all over the place.  I won’t make that mistake again.

Last Thursday, I had almost taken off from working out.  I was a little tired from the day before, but I was reminded that the road to the Vermont 100 miler is long, lonely and tiring.  I went out by myself in the frigid night air and ran a solitary 6 miles.  I took off Friday and then from Saturday – Tuesday have ran 7, 11, 8 and 7 miles.  Nothing big this past weekend, but it was time I backed off after running marathon distance on three Sundays in a row.

Tonight I will most likely take off.  I will probably meet a friend to have a serious conversation about the future.  I need to make up my mind about what I want and how to get it.  I am not a complete person right now and I need to make myself whole.  Maybe, I’ll come to some decisions and develop an action plan.

I still need to decide what to do this weekend.  I already know I am running the Cherry Tree 10 Mile in Prospect Park on Sunday.  I am debating on running to Central Park on Saturday to do the 4 Mile Haiti run.  If I run to CP, do the race and back home I’ll have 25 miles on Saturday.  I am thinking that it is time for me to start doing double longs on the weekends.  My goal is to get up to 30/20 miles for a Sat/Sun by April and increasing those distances as May approaches.  VT100 here I come.