Injury, motivation, and rebirth.

FRoD! Coming out of the month of April, I had just run two tough races and was a little burned out. I have been on this running roller coaster before, I know you have to ride the wave. I slacked off a little, went into Chattooga with no expectations. 2 miles into Chattooga, I severely sprained my left ankle. For a variety of reasons I continued to push and "run" through, finishing in just over 9 hours. A 50k PW. To add insult to injury, I pushed myself into a deep state of dehydration and didn't recover properly. Returning home, I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and blacked out from low blood pressure. My wife decided we needed to call the paramedics, I was taken to the hospital with a diagnosis of Rhabdo. No running for 2 weeks. When I did return, it was awful. I couldn't run a mile. Every run was brutal. I dreaded each trip out the door. I was ready to give it up. Dumb continued to motivate me from a far. Then came Vol State. Reading about all of the runners and their journey. Constant contact with Psyche during her journey. I was starting to get the juice back. Dumb & I decided to take a trip to the Cohutta for a night run on the Tearbritches Trail. Less than 2 miles in, I turn my right ankle. It wasn't as bad as Chattooga, but it was mentally a setback. My confidence was back to square one. I had to take a couple of days off. I've been getting my mojo back. running is still a chore, I've lost a ton of aerobic fitness and muscle endurance. I struggle to run more than a couple of miles without having to stop. But I keep showing up. Laurel Valley awaits. Pinhoti is in the distance. Summer is almost over and with that, the joy will return. I. Can't. Wait. FRoD.