Oh yeah... And by "racing" I mean something that lands squarely between 11 and 12 minute miles.
I had to slow waaaay down for my second run. My first was halfway respectable but I ended up with a sore foot and tendon to show for my effort. (There might have been a reason DW put slow in all CAPS!) My second was a few seconds shy of heartbreaking. Even still, by the third five minute jog interval (I use that term loosely here), the injury started to ache sharply. I slowed down even more, so much that I might have traveled back in time.
I think the hardest part of an injury is coming back. Taking that great big ego and putting it on the shelf long enough to tolerate shuffling through the neighborhood. Long enough to allow yourself to be as bad at something as you need to be to find the baseline, the only point from which you can hope to improve.
I think we all can tolerate a lack of ability in a new activity, whether it's knitting, golfing or triathlon. No one expects to be accomplished at first. Learning is fun. There is camaraderie in shared terrible-ness found in a beginner group of anything. And to have to be that "terrible" again, once you've cleared the hurdle the first time, is anything but fun. In fact, it blows duck feathers!
The thing is that I really have very little that is worth defending. I will be far better served by checking my ego like a coat and bringing some humility to my workouts instead. And when it's time, when the going is tough or you need just a little more, bring all that ego, all that competitiveness out and use it like a tool, rather than letting it herd me like a cow straight into my limitations.
Easier said than done. I'll have to get back to you on this one.
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