A Break from Running

As of today, I’m going on a month of no running. It wasn’t my idea; doctor’s orders. And it's been a very…interesting experience. At first, I felt very disconnected. Not just from my running friends but from myself as well. While running has always been a part of my life, joining a running club in 2021/2022 brought my relationship with it to another level. It also brought me a running community. A group of friends. It got me out of my comfort zone. It helped relieve my stress and gave me mental clarity. And it’s become a pretty major part of my life.

📸: Caitlin Moyer Photography

So, when I was told that I needed to scale back on running, it felt doable to let my body recover. “I’ll just run 5k’s for a while,” I told myself. Then at my last appointment, after some follow-up questions, the nurse practitioner said, “We’ll revisit this at your next appointment, but for now, no more running.” And I was so bummed. A month of no running? What was I going to do now? Well, I signed up for a gym membership thinking that if I at least moved my body it would be better than nothing. I overestimated my motivation though, and in the past month, I’ve only gone to the gym four times. Lifting weights and using a stationary bike are just not the same as going for a run.

The hardest part about this experience is putting my running goals on the back burner. At the beginning of the year, I talked about my plans, and how I wanted to reach certain distances this year. Then in February, I decided that I would train for the 2025 Cowtown Half starting in October. And I wanted to work on running farther without having to stop. While I had hoped to still be able to tackle some of these goals, after my last appointment, I was forced to realize that this probably wouldn’t be the case. Now, I know that there is a really good reason for being told to stop. My doctor knows best. So, I will do as I’m told because it’s important and because I eventually want to be able to run again. But it’s still hard.

Tomorrow is the "next appointment" and we will discuss my options. I’m hoping to have some good news. Please let me do slow intervals. But I’m also aware that even if I have good news, depending on how my body responds, I could be told to stop running for the rest of the year. So, here’s me hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Regardless, I know this is all in God’s hands and there’s a reason for it. In the end, I’ll accept whatever he has in store.