I read a FB comment, "Sure glad I got my miles in today before I came down with this awful cold." As runners, this is the mentality that leads to days off due to sickness or pain. A smart comment would be, "I sure wish I had skipped todays run, I might have been able to duck getting sick." Our sport requires us to read our bodies closely looking for clues that tell us when to back off, drop out of a race or train and race hard. We follow schedules, have weekly mileage goals and some of us even share this info on social media, all of this brings pressure to perhaps sneak in just one more mile, often when we know we are pushing the limit, one more mile that might just cost us a month of mileage, dang.

Run smart, forever,

Randy Step, an admitted obsessed runner for over 35 years, who makes less stupid mistakes now, but still lets ego get in the way occasionally ... but less and less! A work in progress.

PS: Ease up and lick your wounds, the serious run season is over. Perhaps enter the Holiday Hustle 5K and 1 Mile, December 12th, then take a silly winter road trip romp in the snow at the Bigfoot 5 or 10K Snowshoe run in Traverse City January 23rd, then party and run on Super Bowl Sunday at the Super 5K February 7th. Just enough commitment to get us out the door this winter so we will be ready to ramp up again for the new season!