Category: Cycling

One Final Push

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, running, SurgeryLeave a comment

Had another follow up with the ortho clinic two days ago. I’ve had very minor improvement in my knee since the last injection, but I’m still getting pain with even walking still sometimes. I can walk farther most of the time before it starts bothering me, but I still have days where it just doesn’t like me to walk on it at all. After every activity that involves weight bearing, I have pain. I get pain after walking, after running, and even after standing twenty minutes to cook or greet people at the doors at church. Biking is almost normal, but I’ll still get pain after that if I ride longer than about 45 minutes, but shorter rides are okay 85% of the time.

All that said, I feel like I’m back to where I was before I injured myself further at the 5K race in November, but even before that I was still struggling with these same issues for 3 months. Now we’re at 7 months, and it’s not looking great that they will resolve without help. The doctor told me there’s still a chance that they can improve, but told me to look at it from the perspective of how much it’s limiting me from the activities I want to do. The truth is that it’s holding me back.

At my appointment, I had fully planned to discuss my surgical options, but I was so undecided about it. The doctor was really understanding about it and told me to take the next month and see if things improve, and during this next month, he told me (directly quoting him) to “beat the shit out of it as a field test”. He told me to increase my activities and see how it responds. Just based on how the weekend went, I think it was stupid of me to push surgery off another month, but I want to be sure I need it. I really don’t see things improving in the next month, but I’ll make suer I run consistently and keep doing my rehab exercises and see what happens.

Steroid Shot Round Two

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, running, SurgeryLeave a comment

I had my ortho follow up yesterday. I did get some relief from the steroid injection into my knee joint last time. It gave me some off my range of motion back and helped with some of the pain, but it didn’t help with everything. I remain unable to bend my knee all the way, or straighten it all the way, so trying to do some of the stretches the doctor gave me hasn’t been going well. It’s still too painful to attempt a quad or hamstring stretch, but I’ve been able to do most of the strengthening ones pretty decently.

Given continuing symptoms at my appointment today, the doctor injected my distal IT band to see what that does for me. I’m still getting lateral and posterior pain, and walking still isn’t comfortable, but biking has been feeling a little better. I’m having less pain and stiffness after a ride as long as I keep it slow. Although any amount of pain is still too much, it’s at least a step in the right direction.

If this steroid injection doesn’t fix the problem and get me starting to run, I’ll be discussing surgery when I go back in 6 weeks. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but that’s the very last option. I’m not crazy about the idea of surgery when we don’t even know for sure what’s going on, but I’m pretty sure arthroscopy can aid in diagnosis, and they can fix the problem if they find something right at the same time, so I’m trying to be as positive as I can. The doctor mentioned possibly releasing tension on the IT band, but that’s assuming that’s the cause. The area where it hurts isn’t the same as where I had IT pain before; that was a little higher up on the knee and this is lower. He still doesn’t think it’s likely to be my meniscus even though it is torn since it’s on the medial side, which is the opposite side of my knee. I also have a Baker’s cyst that could be the cause. Basically, we’re both just crossing our fingers and hoping we can at least narrow down what’s going on. Unfortunately, it could be one or all of those things.

I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning (waaaay too early at 2:45 am thanks to insomnia being a side effect of the injection), so I took myself out for a walk at 6 am and managed to hit two miles. I was really slow, but only mildly sore while I walked without a noticeable difference in pain later on, so that’s a good sign. If I can get the pain while walking to disappear over the next two weeks, I’ll try slipping in a couple tenth mile intervals into a walk. I don’t want to rush back into trying to run and make it worse again, but I also need the information for when I go back for my follow up. If I still can’t run, I’ll let them cut me open and see if they can find the problem. I’m far too young for this to be the end of my running, so I’ll give it a try if I have to.

I’ll let you guys know how things continue to go as always!

Autumn Tidings

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

Forgive me for not updating this in four months! I can hardly believe how fast the time is flowing by these days. It’s been six months since changing jobs, and I don’t regret a single thing.

In terms of running, it’s been going okay. My knee is still an issue, and now my hip on the same side has been having some muscle stiffness on the outside. I took a few weeks off and restarted Couch to 5K this weekend. I had only been getting out once a week to run and focusing on cross training with speed walking and biking. Even biking still makes my knee hurt if I go too long. Despite everything, I’m grateful for at least being able to do some things. That said, I do want to do something with this knee of mine. It’s still far too much of a problem. The last run I did before taking a breaks was 2 miles, and I had major problems— all of them on my right leg. My knee was achy and swollen, my hip was mildly sore and quite stiff, my hamstrings, glutes, and calf felt strained, and even my ankle was trying to act up again, and that hasn’t been an issue in many months. I have no idea what to do. I’ve been really upset and angry about it. I’m sure if I see my doctor, he’ll want me to do PT for it again, but my copay will be much cheaper in the near year for that, so I’d rather wait a bit. I’m already doing PT for my shoulder right now (rotator cuff tendinitis), and that’s taking enough of my money.

Issues aside, I did run a 5k last month! It was the Halloween-themed run that I did last year, and it was even more enjoyable this year! I dressed as a female version of Mario and got some amazing compliments on my costume, and I got singled out by one of the photographers as I was walking by him because he wanted me to pose for a photo, so that was fun. I ran this race with two of my friends, and it was great. I actually didn’t do too badly, but I would love to finish faster one day. Again, I’m just grateful to be able to do it at all.

I also recently took a little bit of a bike trip about 30 miles south of me and rode on a trail that went through four different parks. It was ten miles out and ten miles back, and I stopped and chained my bike every so often and just wandered around. I packed a mini breakfast to eat halfway through; at the end of the path was a dam with a two story overlook. It sounds a little more grand than it was, but it was still really beautiful. It was on the chilly side that morning, so I didn’t run into a lot of people, which is the way I like it. I spent three hours just exploring all along that trail. I definitely want to make time to do something like that again at a new place.

All in all, things are going well. I can only hope it stays this wonderful through the end of the year!

May Flowers

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

Okay, so this really has nothing to do with actual flowers (although I did enjoy my tree’s cherry blossoms this year!), but I get bored titling everything with the month and the word ‘update’. I’m going to touch on my injury progress later, but I want to start with work first.

I started my new job a week ago, and I think it’s going to be soooo good for me. I love having a set schedule. It’s nice knowing that unless it’s my turn for a late day (which is shared and usually only an extra hour and a half max), I’ll be gone at a certain time. I’ve made plans to do a workout at a wooded metro park once a week, a run Saturday morning at a different park, and there are weekly glow rolls Saturday nights all summer long I want to make it out to once in a while. I love having a schedule that lets me plan events and have evenings and weekends off to see people much more easily. I’m already feeling a lot less lonely.

Next, my knee. It’s not 100%, but it feels so much better now that I’m not on my feet all day long without a break. The pain is minimal, but I do still have trouble with running. I’ve only been doing three sets of 5 minute run/ 2 minute walk when I go out, but I do get some pain at the beginning of my runs. At this point, it’s more the patellar tendon that’s giving me trouble, and a little bit is coming from my hamstrings on the same side. The sports medicine doctor I was seeing said I didn’t need to come back unless the pain got bad enough to want an injection, or unless my knee is swollen for two or more days despite rest. He said to just work on continuing to strengthen it and to try to be less fat (not how he said it, but that’s what it comes down to). He said there isn’t anything I can do with my knock knees, so I have that working against me forever, but strengthening should at least help downplay it a little. I still lack so much strength in my right leg that it feels like a never-ending battle. I still can’t do a single leg calf raise or single leg squat, which means I still can’t jump rope. However, I haven’t had very much trouble with biking unless I overdo it, so if I keep it reasonable, I have little pain afterward. Honestly, my biggest issue is stiffness, and I think a lot of that has to do with sitting all day at work now, so I need to start stretching more. I did find out Friday that the desks all convert to standing desks, so I’ll be going back and forth standing and sitting throughout the day.

Lastly, I’ve been having some shoulder troubles. I think it’s leftover from my last job, so I’m hoping it will eventually go away, but it’s been lingering for a good 6-8 weeks now, so I’m going to ask my physical therapist if he’ll look at it for me and at least give me an idea of what it is so I can try to work on it on my own until I can get in to see my doctor. I don’t think it’s major because it’s just sore enough doing certain things to be annoying, but given that I’m not stressing it at work anymore, it should start to go away soon. Fingers crossed.

I’ll do another update in a few weeks in regards to work, but I might post something else in the meantime if something is worthwhile so these don’t always end up so long.

Noom, Church, and Never-ending PT

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

Looks like I managed to squeeze a post in before April hit somehow! It’s been a pretty busy six weeks for me. Working unpredictable hours from week to week and never having the same days off just makes time seem unreal sometimes. I have been fortunate enough the past two months to have Sunday mornings free for church, which I’ve been enjoying. I mentioned it a little last time, but I’ve been attending regularly since August last year, after spending my whole life after the age of ten or eleven away from church. I started just watching online to check things out, and started going in person Christmas Eve. My church does adult and older child baptism (it’s a modern, nondenominational church). Basically, they want it to be a conscious decision, so even though I was baptized as a baby, I just felt called to publicly declare my faith. It was an amazing moment that I will cherish forever. Last month, I did a four week course that talked about figuring out your spiritual gifts, personality, and how to put them into practice. I started volunteering as a greeter a few weeks ago and have been enjoying it. Eventually I might branch out into a different area, but until I can make a 100% commitment without work potentially getting in the way, it makes it difficult. I know they really need help with the kids area because they’ve had to turn some families away to keep the child-adult ratio safe, so that may be a fun next step in the future.

Next in my crazy month, I ended up starting Noom, and have lost ten pounds on it so far! I lost sixty pounds a couple of years ago and kept it off, but have no real reason for not ever finishing what I started other than just not putting effort into it. I suppose I have my doctor to thank for getting me started again. He didn’t push, but he said he himself has been trying a different program called Wondr, and said the psychological aspect has been interesting. He told me he lost a lot of weight in the past, so he had some insights to share. I ended up emailing him after I signed up when I saw what my daily calorie goal was and asked if it was appropriate—1320 calories is not a lot to work with each day, but being active earns you extra. However, they only give you back half the calories you burn. It’s enough for an extra snack if I need it, so it’s been working okay. I made no progress last week since I had all the bad Costco food (love those almond danishes, and my family shares some with me when they go), so I need to get back on track. I’m working through week 5 right now, and looking to lose 70 pounds by the end of October. Honestly, I’ve found that if I plan properly, I really don’t get hungry on that low amount. I’ve been sneaking extra veggies into things I never thought I would, like putting frozen cauliflower into my fruit and yogurt smoothies. I can’t taste it at all, and it gives the smoothies a really nice texture while filling me up with almost no extra calories. I’ve also gotten back on track with my overnight oats. I was eating cereal a lot last month and just feel better starting my day with oatmeal instead. Lunches have been mostly salads with chicken added to them. I buy the premade salad kits, which are more expensive, but I think it’s worth it to just dump it into a bowl or lunchbox container and head out the door, plus you can constantly change the taste without trying to use everything up before it goes bad. My only prep work is defrosting an individually portioned amount of already cooked chicken from the freezer. For dinner, I let myself decide from day to day what I want. It’s not set in advance like lunch or breakfast, so I make sure to measure out proper portions. I managed not to eat all of the mac and cheese last week at once and saved some for the next day, so just making small changes like the above are good ways to start. I love snacking on fruit, especially raspberries, and have found it’s the perfect snack to keep me going between meals. After a workout if I’m extra hungry, I’ll have a protein shake with my fruit, but I don’t do it every time. If I spend on hour or more on a workout, then I’ll reach for one, but otherwise just some milk and a banana is my go-to after a bike ride. I’ll talk more in detail about Noom when I get a little farther along in the program.

Last, and I’ll keep it short because this is already long, but I’m STILL doing physical therapy for my runner’s knee. My doctor really wanted me to keep working at strengthening my knee to make sure this whole saga is less likely to happen in the future. He said even just one session a week would be beneficial so I could get some guidance and work on things I can’t do at home, so I’m thankful my PT isn’t sick of dealing with me yet. We started doing something called blood flow restriction training, and it’s so exhausting! It really is amazing how much more tiring it is to perform the same exercises with blood flow somewhat cut off. It’s supposed to help grow muscle by letting me do less weight and higher repetitions while keeping me from having so much pain. I am slowly getting stronger, but I still don’t have that single leg squat, and I still can’t jump rope. I also haven’t ran in about six weeks. The pain is so much better, so hopefully some strength will come a little faster now that I can do a little more. I’ve been biking twice a week for longer durations—45-90 minutes, and it’s been going pretty well. I do tend to overdo it some days out of sheer stubbornness, but I’m getting better at recognizing when I should stop.

As always, I will try to at least get you guys one update next month, but I think it’s clear I’m not great at doing this on a regular basis. Take it easy!

New Year, New Goals 2022!

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

I can’t believe it’s a new year already! 2021 seemed to go by fast. Mostly it was a good year. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but nothing overtly bad happened either. I do wish I wasn’t bringing my runner’s knee into the new year, though. I was hoping I could start this year out strong and ready to tackle things, but that will be a little delayed.

I followed up with my sports medicine doctor two days ago and he wants me to do some more physical therapy, which I pretty much knew he was going to recommend. He told me that he wanted my PT program to be really aggressive and that he wasn’t concerned about making anything worse. He said he was fine with me staying at the clinic I’ve been going to if they can push me hard enough, otherwise he recommended the clinic in his building because they work with a lot of athletes. So, honestly I don’t know what I want to do. I’m going to chat with my usual PT on the phone when he returns to the office Tuesday and see what he might think. I feel like I could have been pushed more in my first round, but I think he was afraid of doing more damage. I think I would be okay with either option. My usual clinic always gets me back running, but at the same time it might not hurt to try something new either. I love that my doctor takes my goals seriously. I got so lucky to have found someone who listens so well.

So what are my goals for this coming year? I have a lot in terms of running, but also some others.

1. Run a 5k race every month this year.

2. Get my 5k time under 40 minutes, and then to under 35.

3. Do one speed session each week to help my running pace.

4. Trail run at least twice a month.

5. Try a 30 day run streak.

6. Sign up for a training group with the local running shop.

7. Consider trying a race longer than 5k if my body is up for it.

8. Incorporate jump rope into my fitness routine.

9. Do several 100 mile bike weeks.

10. Get back to studying Japanese.

I will probably be adding some things on this list eventually, but this is a start. Most of the running ones should be easily attainable when I can resume normal training. I’m still on the 1-1.5 miles twice a week thing until I get more strength built up, so my race times won’t be great for a few months, but it’s better than nothing at all!

I already started this year with a 5k on New Year’s Eve. It started just before midnight, and when midnight hit, fireworks went off, so that was cool to see while running. It was a smaller race with around 200 people, but everyone was really nice! Even though I was fifth from last at finishing, there were still people around to cheer as I ran across the finish line, which usually doesn’t happen at the bigger races. I definitely wouldn’t mind doing that race again every New Year’s!

PT, Round 5

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

It’s been a whirlwind of a month, but I feel like things are looking up. I saw my primary care doctor for my knee, and he wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. He said it could be a few different things based on my exam. When I called to make the appointment my knee was feeling worse than the day I actually had the appointment, so it wasn’t giving me its usual problems. My doctor told me I always make things difficult (jokingly, of course), but I can’t help it my body didn’t read the instruction manuals. It always shows problems in weird ways. Since he wasn’t sure, he told me he wanted someone else to look at my knee. I appreciated his honesty about it. He told me he’d contact someone he knew in sports medicine and see if I could be seen.

The next business day I got a call from a sports medicine office to schedule an appointment, and they got me in within a week and a half. I really like the doctor I saw there. He was great at explaining everything to me, very friendly, and he took my goals into consideration to come up with a plan for me. It turns out I have runner’s knee. The plan was to start physical therapy for 4-6 weeks and cut back on my workouts. So now I can only run two days a week for half my usually time and bike one day. I asked if I could still do the 5Ks I was signed up for and he said it was fine if I took a few days off afterward.

I started physical therapy a few days ago and will be going three times a week. I get to see the PT I’ve always seen, so he knows my weird problems already. My femur is twisted internally, my tibia is twisted externally, and my foot points out on my affected leg. He’s trying to correct that as much as possible while we work to build strength in key areas. Yesterday’s session has my muscles sore, but that means it was an effective workout for me. I’m hoping things calm down soon and I can enjoy some more time running pain free in the new year!

What Makes Someone an Athlete?

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

What Makes Someone an Athlete?

I’ve been thinking about the answer to this question for the last couple of days, after someone told me I was an athlete. It really got me thinking about the term, because I’ve never thought about myself in that way before. So, like any time life throws me something I need or want to think over, I got my bike out and pondered it over the course of an hourlong ride, and then I went home and did some journaling regarding the topic. I’m curious to know what everyone else thinks, but this is my take.

I have always thought of athletes as people who are good at sports, and even most dictionary definitions will say the same thing. By that view, I certainly don’t feel like an athlete. I run and bike because they bring me joy. I’m nowhere near good enough to ever win an official event, and I probably never will be. I sign up for 5Ks because I enjoy them. I lack even the most basic traits of athleticism. I’m still striving to get “in shape”, and I’m not particularly coordinated (I trip over my own feet more than I should). You can see why I have a hard time thinking of myself as an athlete based on those views, but is it the right view?

When I first started running, I read a lot of articles about the sport, especially if it was targeted to a beginner. Some of the articles made it clear that even people who partake in running just a few days a week should think of themselves as an athlete and try to keep that mindset at the forefront of their minds during a workout. Thinking back to those articles, I asked myself a few other questions:

1. Is a team really necessary to be an athlete, or is competing against yourself sufficient?

2. Do you need to excel at your sport (team or otherwise), or is committing and showing up enough?

3. Can you be an athlete without being athletic?

I came up with some answers after talking it over a bit with my aunt and thinking about how much I’ve changed in the last two years. I think being an athlete has more to do with mindset than physical abilities in many ways. Undertaking and finishing a training program for whatever your goals may be takes dedication and sacrifice. If you’re someone who sets goals and strives to improve each day, that makes you an athlete. It often means changing your lifestyle to meet the demands of your chosen activity, reorganizing your priorities, and getting out of bed each morning without making excuses. The determination and drive to keep going when things get tough definitely define an athlete, so I don’t really think it matters what your activity is or if you choose to compete. Your sport becomes a part of you that you can’t do without. I can easily identify with the above characteristics, and I’m sure many of you can, too.

Maybe more of us should start thinking of ourselves as athletes. Maybe it’s time to do a mental overhaul instead of just a physical one. That old adage “fake it till you make it” has some truth to it. It can be hard to change your mindset, but maybe “faking it” is what’s needed until you start believing it.

“Back” to Pain

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

Hey y’all! It’s been a few weeks since I posted an update. My running hasn’t been progressing too well since I ran that 5k distance last month. I was talking to a much more experienced runner about it and he said it might be wise to back off the training a bit. Having hit two PRs last month left my body feeling tired, and I began struggling to complete a run. Even a mile left me feeling like I was breathing too hard. I switched back to run/walk intervals for the time being—5 minute run and 2 minute walk. I’m going to do that for a bit and gradually increase the running time back up, first to 8 minutes, then to 10 minutes, and keep my 2 minute walk breaks for those new times and see how my body responds. I’m going to increase my total workout time from 35 minutes to 50 minutes gradually with the help of the run/walk intervals, and reassess after that. In a few weeks, I also want to add a 4th run day where I simply run a mile and try to get progressively better times.

That said, I haven’t run in 8 days, unless you count the 3 minutes that I attempted Tuesday. My left back started hurting near my lower ribs 5 days ago, and I just assumed it was a strain of some sort since it hurt with movement or deep breathing. I was content with just treating it on my own until the pain worsened and I felt like I was being stabbed. I made an appointment with Dr. S and he said it could basically be a dozen different things since there’s no other symptoms (he also told me it was too early in his day to have such a tricky problem 😂). I had a test done to rule out kidney stones and that was normal, so for now I’m trying several days of prednisone to see if that calms the pain down any. If so, I’m good to go, and if not, we discussed potential next steps. Hopefully the next time I have to see him will be at the 5k race we’re both doing in August and not sooner. I want to get back to my training plan!

Even though it hurts too much to run this week, I can still bike since once I’m in position, my back doesn’t really move. I rode for over an hour today and it felt glorious to get outside and move. The only bad thing is that a bracket on my bike seat broke in a place that can’t really be replaced without major hassle. I have it duct taped in place for now since it isn’t going to be a safety issue when I’m sitting on it, but I did order a new seat tonight. Chances are if one part broke, others are weak. My bike gets a lot of use! I also need to get a new tire for the back at some point, which in hindsight I should have also ordered tonight. Oh well.

Lastly, I baked some cookies for my physical therapy clinic and dropped them off this morning. It’s been six months since I’ve had to go there, which is the longest I’ve stayed away in the last two years! That’s amazing for me! It’s all thanks to them always going above and beyond to help. If they hadn’t suggested Frankenshoe (getting a 1 inch full sole lift built into my everyday shoes and my running shoes to even out my leg lengths), I doubt I would have gone this long without a major issue. I’m so grateful to have been able to work with people who care so much.

Feeling Like Giving Up

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, running1 Comment

I had my followup appointment today for my hip tendinitis and I’ve been crying off and on all day. I’m so beyond frustrated with my orthopedic doctor. It was a huge waste of my time (and money). Both of my hips have been bothering me, but in different places. On the left side it’s my gluteus medius tendon and on the right it’s my hip flexors. My left side has been feeling better; it’s not perfect, but the pain is less most days. My right side has been unchanged. I figured my doctor might want to discuss how some of the things I’ve been trying at physical therapy have been helping, especially the temporary shoe lift on my right foot. I was curious to see what he’d have to say about it and if he thinks it might be a solution to getting all of my trouble areas to heal up and leave me be.

He had no interest in any of that. He seemed almost offended that I went to my PT for help while I waited for my follow-up appointment and questioned how badly I was actually hurting. He told me I can’t just go to PT forever. I wouldn’t call a couple of sessions after 6 weeks working on a home program “forever”. All the doctor told me was that I should get a home program from my PT and work hard at it and everything would go away, never mind the fact that I’ve been doing that exact thing. I do my PT exercises every day, and on days where I’m hurting really badly, I stretch extra. He also told me to join a gym, lose weight, and work on diet and my pain would go away. I had to remind him that I’ve already lost a lot of weight (nearly 70 pounds), and that the hip issues started when I became a runner. The left side has been bothering me for 13 months and the right side for about 5 months. I really wanted to know what my doctor thought about my leg length discrepancy, and I didn’t even get a chance to ask him because he made me cry right there in his office. I agree with my PT about my leg length discrepancy being the cause, but it’s not a simple thing to just fix. Left untreated, my body develops poor compensatory patterns, which is why I have so many other areas that are hurting, which lately has been my right knee. Even treating a leg length discrepancy can cause problems while the body adjusts to its new mechanics if it’s treated too aggressively too quickly. I don’t know why my doctor didn’t want to talk about any of that stuff. Maybe he didn’t even read the chart. He sure didn’t seem to remember I was a runner until I told him I had a 5k this weekend I needed to get through, and his only response to that was that he was glad to hear it because it would help with the weight loss. It was at that point I started to cry. His last piece of brilliant advice was to tell me to call up the office and make an appointment if it didn’t get any better. I don’t understand how much “not better” it needs to be for him to care, but I’m certainly not going back.

I really don’t understand what happened today. My doctor was great about getting my left hip feeling better. Why is it different because it’s the right side that’s still bothering me? In the meantime, there’s not a lot I can do. My PT has been wonderful at helping me look for solutions, so I’m grateful I at least have someone who is interested in helping me. Him not being a physician limits that help, but it’s still been a blessing. He recommended I make the shoe modification permanent and told me of a place that should be able to do that for me in the next city over. The only reservation I have is if it removes the support aspect of my motion control shoes, and my PT wasn’t sure, so I’ll have a few questions I want to ask. In the meantime, the temporary ones are helping for now. I don’t know how much that will cost to modify my shoes, but if it will give me a chance at a pain-free life, I’ll try it if the price is reasonable enough. In the meantime, I’ll be taking a couple of weeks off from running after my 5k. I’ll also be taking a few weeks off from PT to work on a home strengthening program while I’m not running and see where that gets me.

I try incredibly hard to be positive and optimistic, but I’m struggling with that right now. I’ve been doing pretty well with my running considering all these injuries, and now with my asthma and the cold air for the winter season. It’s hard to see success on paper in my training journal and still feel like I’m somehow failing. The numbers may look good, but the way my body feels tells a different story.