Motivation.

I just bought a bikini online for our trip to Miami at the end of February. Nothing's more motivating than a swimsuit ready deadline. The one thing that kills the motivation? Knee pain. I think I'm ready to officially kill any fall marathon goals. It just isn't in the cards this year. I don't want to push myself too much and end up being in pain for a few months of training. I'd much rather figure out a way to safely manage my pain without having to pop pain killers regularly. I've hardly taken any pain meds since surgery and don't want to start now. I also want to figure out a way to work out regularly and not be in pain afterwards and a solid schedule of running doesn't seem to be the right thing. So, I'm going to keep working on building back up my running base, focusing on 5k's, and cross train with cycling and swimming. I think the key will be balancing impact with non-impact cardio. I also wonder if once the winter passes if I'll still be experiencing knee pain. I ran a 5K early November, before it got cold, without any issues. Now, I seem to be lingering in a stiff/sore stage since winter hit. Makes me want to re-locate to a warmer climate. Or, perhaps just a long weekend in Miami will make it all better.