Run to Win... Pt. 2

It is Thursday night and my calves still haven't completely loosened up. Monday I could hardly walk they hurt so bad. I should have listened (to advice and to my calves).

I read a suggestion the day before the race that you should stop and stretch your calves at the top of the hill so that they don't cramp up on the downhill. After falling behind my intended time to the summit, I didn't want to take the minute or two to stretch my calves to lose even more time. The entire 4.5 mile descent, my calves were on the brink of cramping. I had to try to run with my toes lifted in order to prevent the cramping. Who knows how much it cost me by not stopping to stretch!

I think there are many times when we feel like we can't slow down (or stop) to tend to an issue that is starting to create problems. What is it in me that makes me think that if I just keep moving, problems will take care of themselves? There are times to run through the pain, but more often than not, the damage caused by ignoring an issue is greater than the damage caused by stopping to deal with it.