Struggling

Yesterday I got a great relaxing four miles in. The pace was slower than usual but it was mostly pain free, which has been unusual with the hip flexor problem I've been having. I thought there was a chance I was past it. 

Unfortunately today I struggled through three miles barely able to get into a stride. Anytime I can't get into a run I force intervals so that I'll keep going. I know it sounds crazy because I hate intervals more than anything, but they keep me moving longer than an easy paced run would on a bad day. So today sucked. 

I'm sitting here debating my next race now. I had lofty goals of running another half next week down in Jamestown. I know everyone thinks I've been pushing too many races into too short of a time. My only problem is I love to race and if I don't do it now there won't be any races for months. Buffalo isn't very condusive to winter races, although I was loving the Winter Warrior Half in Rochester the first week of January. 

So here I am sitting on the fence. One part of my brain is saying that my hip hurt through the last two races and I did fine because it loosened up after a few miles. The other part is saying back off and rest. Here's the thing: I did rest. I took a little over a week off. Not a long time to most people but it is for me. Running= happiness to me. It's what calms me down and relaxes me after spending all day at my ridiculous job mid-flu season. I get antsy and irritable without running. I actually just read an article in a running magazine about a woman that couldn't sleep the night after a long run. There's no scientific reason for it but they assume the "runner's high" lasts much longer in some people and that's why they're restless at night. I have the same problem and that leads me to believe that's why I get so irritable when I can't run 😁

So I'm going to run light this weekend as I'm working all weekend and try to make the decision on Monday about the race next Sunday. Anyone else doing it?