Thursday, November 27, 2008

The True Measure of Fitness


It’s been a while since I last posted. In fact, I’ve past the one-year anniversary of my injury. A lot of things have happened in my road to recovery. I think it’s safe to say that my training has been met with challenges left and right. And although I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and that I was going to be a rollercoaster ride, I set a goal, bound by time and performance levels.

I said to myself that since my setback happened just before my 21K race last November, I should be able to run that same distance and clocking the same time as well. That then would be a perfect crown to my fitness goal.

But in my effort to do just that, I found myself suffering injuries left and right. I’m able to run the same distances with relative ease. But when I push my training to improve my time, BANG!, the injuries appear. Now on and off, I nurse hamstring strains and heel spurs.

I know my shortcomings. I know I have to be more religious with my strength/weight training and my stretching. I know I was taking short cuts to achieve my November goals. Now I’m suffering the consequences.

Now, I’ve shifted my mindset and have adjusted my goals. My focus now is to constantly work on improving my distance and stamina without getting injured. And when I know my body is ready, I will work on speed.

After all, fitness isn’t only measured through speed and distance but more importantly with the health of the athlete. ☺