Under Armour What’s Beautiful: Changing Course

I’m changing my goals for the Under Armour What’s Beautiful campaign. Why? I didn’t meet my first goal.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to complete 2 half marathons in one weekend. I had the Twisted Ankle trail half marathon on Saturday and the XTerra half marathon on Sunday.

I ran Saturday and had a FANTASTIC RACE! For more details, check out my race report. Unfortunately, I pulled a groin muscle. I slipped on some mud coming down the bluff and when my leg shot out, that muscle wasn’t happy.

I had 2 choices:

• Race Sunday anyway. I could hobble it if I had to. I’ve finished a race DFL before. I could do it again. I could also injure myself further and be out the rest of the summer.
• I could scrap that goal and set some new ones. I have a long trip to Colorado with races and mountain hikes planned.

I’m ashamed to say how long I debated on these two choices. I’m striving to be relentless, remember! That means going all out, no excuses, right??? I’ve done that before, and it didn’t work out too well. 9 months of physical therapy and a full year of running lost in recovery taken in baby steps and more bike training than running. Maybe being disciplined enough to know my limits with injury is just enough right now.

So, I rested on Sunday.

And I changed my goals. Instead of focusing on just an event like 2 half marathons in one weekend, I’m focusing on making improvements to my overall fitness. I have some running goals and CrossFit goals and general fitness goals. They all work in tandem together. Improvements in running lead to bigger gains in CrossFit. Working on core strength will only make my running form better.

BE RELENTLESS!! I will no longer let my doubts overcome my determination. I WILL Complete 2 trail half marathons this summer, AND my first Duathlon in June. I will add 30# to my deadlift, 20# to my back squat, get my first double under, and conquer the fear of the box jump.

I WILL.

Being relentless isn’t about being stupid.

It’s about being disciplined.

Fitness and strength isn’t going to just happen because I say it will. I have to make good decisions and balance between knowing when to push my body beyond perceived limits and knowing when to stop risking my health.