If you have a race that you like to run every year, you understand the sinking feeling you get when an injury sidelines you. The Azalea half marathon, 5k/10k will hold their event for the 3rd time and the gun will go off without me this time. A peroneal tendonitis flare needs rest and the decision to cut back from the half to either the 5 or 10k was as agonizing as the injury itself. After much rumination, I had to reconcile that being overly sentimental about racing the same event year after year wasn’t worth it. It’s more important to be looking ahead and healing with the guts it takes to rest properly.
If you’re hurt and feeling like a slacker for taking it easy in order to heal, cut yourself some slack and focus on the strong running ahead of you. I look forward to the Azalea again, but want to race it strong – not having the memory of running through agony just to keep a streak going. The sentiment of proper repair will hopefully have a much higher rate of positive return. ~trvw