frustration - no running (again) and poor planning..

so it's a lovely Friday lunchtime outside. it's not as clear and sunny as it was earlier, but it's still warmer than the last few days, dry and not too breezy. perfect for a run round the park. so what am i doing sitting here writing this in my lunch-break instead of doing that. well, the knee's still not right. i RICEd it again last night, but it's still not back to normal, and i know from experience that to not trust your body (in other words, don't listen to your runner's head: 'run! run! it'll be fine, honest..') is just wrong. i've missed some hard fartlek yesterday - although my running mate here did only go round the park, and ran his knee further into trouble, unfortunately - and a simple 5miler with intervals today. that was the plan in my head at the start of the week. damn football..

and the poor planning? that's because i knew i'd be this frustrated by now, so on the way home yesterday i thought that when i got back i'd go straight up and do a quick weights session - i have some simple dumbbells, some press-up handles and a pull-up bar.. there's a easy 20min session that i've tried to keep up with at least once a week (i did it on Monday night). i could have fitted that in, relieved the tension and worn myself out a bit. but instead, i was kinda kidnapped by the .. kids and then dinner was ready. before i knew it, it was 8:30 and the moment was gone. i should have really got my act together and done it then, but Thursday night is always the biggest energy lull of my week. whatever the excuse, i didn't train - at all - then stayed up late watching politicians debate election fallout til too late, then woke up this morning sleep-deprived and exercise-frustrated.

we don't have plans for the weekend, but i doubt there will be time for me to fit in alternative exercise like swimming, but will see.. there's nothing like saying 'i'm going for a run' on a weekend morning, when no one else is that bothered - it's not going to ruin their plans, they were going to take it easy anyway.. you can't really do that with other sports, whether they be team games or something like swimming or the gym (god forbid), where you need to be somewhere. i love running for that.

link of the day so far goes to the self help section of the Wharton active isolated stretching site, as recommended on the life of lemon blog. there are image streching guides, but also links out to a youtube site, which seems to be quite extensive. worth a look..