Here we are almost the middle of March and so far 2014 has been a running roller coaster for me. After ending 2013 with a mild calf injury I bounced back in January with a stellar month of running. February also began happy, in the first five days of the month I had logged just shy of fifty miles.

On the evening of February 5th I returned from running with friends and was getting ready for bed as I had to get for work at 0230. Suddenly I felt sick, it was like I had just been hit with a hammer. I called in sick to work and climbed into bed for two days. In all honesty this winter has been brutally cold here in New York.

I was out of commission for five days before logging my next two runs of five & eight miles followed by a rest day. I  just wasn’t feeling it, I felt blah as if running wasn’t fun anymore. I think not only was my body still fighting a cold and run down but this cold, dreary winter was finally taking its toll on my morale. For the first time I felt defeated!

This sense of being lost had flowed over into the early days of March, my spirit till broken I was looking to heal. Then on March 3rd I got together with a friend, Dan Cavalari for an 8 mile run. Beginning our run I began to tell Dan about how I had been feeling lately. During our conversation Dan had made some interesting points to me. He thought I needed to change things up a bit. My body had become complacent with the mileage I was doing, he had suggested doing some speed workouts and so on.

That afternoon we were running at an easy pace in the mid to low seven minute pace for our first two miles. Unknowingly Dan began to slowly push me a bit and our pace increased. Now we were running under a seven minute pace,teetering in the high six minute pace for two miles. Pushing me harder again and now we’re at the mid six minute pace for another two miles, finishing our last two miles with a mid seven minute pace.

I felt rejuvenated, like the greening of our world after a long cold winter, no more was I lost, I was inspired.  March was going to be a great month of running for me. I was out for my run after work on Friday March 7th and I began to feel some discomfort in my groin area. I automatically knew what it was as I had felt some discomfort a few days earlier but brushed it off. Yup, you guessed it I strained my hip flexors. Actually it comes as no surprise as I have been totally lax in my stretching, rolling and pre run warm ups. It kind of serves me right, wouldn’t you say!

I’ve been really depressed the last several days not being able to run. Yesterday was no boost of morale with temperatures at almost sixty degrees complete with sun. However sitting here today penning this blog post, looking out our office window there are giant snowflakes dancing in the cold winters air. Maybe this is a good time to relax, heal and take a moment to reflect on my running priorities.

Stay warm my friends!