Play it again

This has nothing to do with running. Well it might. It could. Wait, it doesn't matter.  What does matter is that I dedicate this post to Yohn who had to put up with me for so long. 

I'm a chronic song-repeater.  When I hear a song I like - no, LOVE, like really really love - I tend to play it over and over and over (and over and over, much to the dismay of people I have lived with).  If you were to go into my iTunes and look at my songs in order of play count, you would probably find a handful of songs with astronomical play counts, while the rest sit anywhere from 0-5. Those are the songs that I have fallen head over heels for, the ones that spark something inside my soul that says THIS SONG IS AWESOME AND FAR SUPERIOR TO OTHER SONGS WHY WASTE YOUR TIME ON OTHER SECOND-STRING, JUNIOR VARSITY MUSIC.

I think I can trace this back to the 6th grade when I became obsessed with "Build Me Up Buttercup".  I heard it at the end of There's Something About Mary and couldn't stop thinking about it.  At that time in my life there were no iPods and my CD collection consisted of Hanson, Spice Girls, and All That: The Album (which is awesome, check it out). The only way my 11-year old brain could figure out how to satisfy my need to listen to it was to watch it on some primitive music video viewing ..thing on VH1's website because I had not mastered the art of downloading music.  I can remember the very moment when I discovered that I could watch the video online, the happiness that filled every crevice of my brain, the smile that spread across my face.  It was like I was breaking a fast and eating everything in sight, except in this case I was filling my insatiable desire to listen to this song that I had been deprived of for so long. So I played the video. Over and over and over. When I went off to summer camp where no electronics were allowed, I sang it. Over and over and over. And when I finally got my hands on the soundtrack to There's Something About Mary (which is awesome, check it out), I played it over and over and over. 

WATCH IT AND SMILE AND BE THANKFUL FOR HOW 

EASY IT IS TO LISTEN TO THE MUSIC YOU LOVE

Fortunately, or un-, this habit has stayed with me since.  I can remember trying to catch the song of the moment on the radio so I could record it with my tape player.  I would then spend the next several hours playing, rewinding, playing, rewinding - all the while cursing that half of my time was taken up by overshooting and trying to find that perfect spot where the song started. Thank goodness for the 21st century for allowing me to continue my fixation on single songs wherever I went. 

College saw Perfect Gentleman and Poker Face climb my iTunes play count chart (until one of my roommates titled a facebook album "I'll cry if Jessie plays Poker Face again").  And lately it has been Blurred Lines -  by Robin Thicke, feat. T.I. and Pharrell.  I just.cannot.stop.listening. These songs are laced with crack.  I have found that the only way to stop this monster is to let it run its course, something I'm totally okay with.  I listen to the song on repeat and eventually I'm not listening to it as much anymore and it winds up in the land of overplayed songs, AKA my running playlists. Which brings me to another point..

Running is my outlet for listening to songs over and over and over without embarrassing myself or annoying others.  I once did a run only listening to Africa (will forever be on repeat).  So there - my secret's out. And let me finish by saying sorry I'm not sorry that I listen to songs on repeat.  

On running and injuries and coming back and being smart and including too many "and"s in my title

Until spring of last year, my short little running career had been injury free. As an avid new runner, I read every word of Runners World and running blogs, and I knew of the range of injuries that lay ahead of me. And I was waiting. But all that reading did little to prepare me for when I actually faced my first injury.  I found myself frustrated and convinced that I would never recover and I would always be running with this twinge of pain. But LO AND BEHOLD, with rest and smart recovery/return to running, the pain disappeared and I ran a marathon that fall.  

Which brings me to winter of this year.  Coming off of a successful marathon, I did not want to see my current level of fitness decrease. I think this mindset made me push myself more, when I should have been taking it easy post-marathon.  I mean, maybe not, but I'm on a self-critiquing binge right now. So. Long story short, I had a pain in my calf muscle that came and went, would disappear when I was running, but sometimes not! Would sometimes stick around after a run, sometimes not! Well when it finally got too painful  to continue on a run (okay, I should have made this decision sooner) I decided to take a break and get rid of the pain.  

And taking a break did not come easily.  I would get antsy after a day or two of not running and hop on the elliptical. Or take a spin class. And I would do this for a few days, attempt to run again, and be in shock when my calf still hurt.  I wanted to have pain-free runs. So, hopefully you can see where this is going, I went cold turkey. No exercise, nothin. For five days. (Forgive me for being dramatic, but) Five whole days. Five days where I spent every second wondering if I should maybe try running just a little bit because maybe, just maybe, my calf would be better and healed.  After the fifth day I ran! And it was slow and awkward, but it was virtually painless and I was happy.  

I hope this second time around I can finally learn my lesson.  When I do get an injury I need that rest.  And I will not lose my fitness, but if I do, it's really not the end of the world because I will be able to come back strong.  Right now, I have an extremely positive outlook on my running future (and nothing hinges on how much I blog and what I blog about).  I'm easing back into running. I intend on cross training/lifting a little more in order to mix things up and make myself strong. And my dad and I have signed up for the Flying Pig half in May and the Chicago full in October.  I have a lot to look forward to, including good health and happy running.