My body is like wack-a-mole when it come to running injuries. One goes away and another pops right up. It all began less than a year ago when I started taking running seriously. At first I was running twice a week. Things seemed pretty good, so I decided to up my running game to three times a week. Things still seemed pretty good, until I started to notice pain in my shins. Some weird inner demon of stubbornness told me to ignore this pain in my shin, claiming that it will go away if I keep running. So that is exactly what I did.

In my defense, I did buy new shoes thinking that fancy footwear would solve my pain problem. It didn’t.

After running a couple months and over 100 kilometers with pain in my shins, I got to the point where I could no longer walk up stairs without wincing. At this point I was starting to get worried. It was time for Doctor Google.

I cleverly self-diagnosed shin splints, one of the most common injuries for runners. The treatment? Stop running! It said it could take up to three months to fully heal.

I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit heartbroken. I had FINALLY gotten into running and now I have to take a three month hiatus? Not cool. But alas, Doctor Google had spoken. No more running.

Two and half months passed and my three month healing deadline was almost up when I had the bright idea of visiting an actual doctor. I was really just hoping to get the OK to get back to running again, so I dragged my butt over to a physiotherapist thinking I would hear a repeat of my trusty Doctor Google’s diagnosis. I was wrong.

Apparently my issue had nothing to do with shin splints and in fact my pain was due to the fact that I was un-flexible. The nerve running down my lower back to my legs was very short and inflexible which resulted in me feeling sharp pain in my shin area every time my legs banged the ground. The solution? Stretching.

Basically, I had stopped running for almost three months, when all I needed to do was perform
several different approved leg stretches throughout the day until I had the flexibility needed to run. So I stretched and flexed and put my running shoes back on. To my amazement the pain subsided. I upped my running to four or five times a week. I started tackling longer runs, more 10k and 15k. I finally felt like a serious runner, but my knees apparently did not.

This week, several weeks after upping my running game I noticed I was feeling some pretty severe pain in my knees and it was always after I had passed the 7-8 kilometer mark. NOT AGAIN.

It’s time to take a step back. After a quick Google search on runners’ knee pain (have I learned nothing?) I discover that I need to start doing strength training on my hips and glutes to make sure they are taking part of the heat when I run. Also, if I know that my knees hurt at 8 kilometers, then I need to not run more than 8 kilometers. I will try a couple weeks of scaling back and strength training (even though I can’t feel my butt for days after I train) if the pain persists I will go, yet again, to the physiotherapist.

The solution seems simple enough, yet it’s incredibly challenging for me mentally. I feel like I just graduated to the “big girl bike” of running and now I have to go and put my training wheels back on.

How do I deal with the frustration of going backwards instead of forwards? By succeeding at the small things instead of failing at the big ones. I had spent so much time trying to over-achieve and become a better marathon-worthy runner, but I kept facing frustration when I wasn’t succeeding due to injury and over-use.

The moral of this story is that when you realize your capabilities and respect them, then you are setting yourself up to succeed in a much healthier way. It’s ok to take the stairs one a time, because you will still get to the top. And maybe next time you can take them two at time, because you will have already succeeded one the first time.

For me, this applies to running, but it also applies to life itself. It’s a friendly reminder to not bite off more than you can chew.
I’m not saying that you should change your goals, I’m just suggesting that’s it’s ok to find different alternative routes to reaching that goal. Ones where you respect yourself and your abilities. The journey doesn’t have to suck.

So here’s to an injury-free marathon! Here’s to succeeding in your goals!
I may run slow… but at least I run.

Happy New Year! Jewish New Year. Which to be honest is the best type of new year because… food.

The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of a “new year” are resolutions. What are my new year’s resolutions? Will I lose weight? Learn an instrument? Give to charity?

My 14 year old sister brought up a very good point about resolutions. I quote: “resolutions are stupid.” Why are resolutions stupid I ask?

Resolutions are stupid because people wait around NOT doing stuff because they will make a resolution to do it. Once they make the resolution they might stick with it for a tiny bit before forgetting or giving up. Basically, resolutions are a form of procrastination.

I am 100% guilty of resolution procrastination or as I like to say “procrastolution”. Let me elaborate. I have about 110 ideas a day. I assume that my ideas are brilliant and easy to execute, so I start planning when, where and how I will do them. They are always planned for ‘next week’…

This particular problem is known in colloquial terms as “talking the talk, but not walking the walk”. I like to say a lot of creative, impressive, and otherwise noteworthy things, but how often do I do them?

Although resolutions are not a Jewish new year thing I think they can help us attain what the spirit of the holiday is really about. Also since I am prone to “procrastolution” the new year is the PERFECT time for me to make some more resolutions.

My Dad once told me that he tries to maintain balance through body, mind and soul. This sounds cliche, but it really resonates with me. In the Jewish New year we ask ourselves “how can I be a better person?” I find that some people solely think about how can they be a better person towards other people and forget about how they can be better to themselves. If you treat your body kindly, with exercise, healthy food and attention, you will be able to help other people better (and for longer). If you learn from others, keep your brain sharp and listen to your creativity, you will be able to help people in new innovative ways and if you pay attention to your own feelings and emotions, if you listen to what YOUR soul is saying, you will notice other peoples better.

So I have plenty of personal “me” oriented resolutions, but my ultimate goal is to make myself a better person both physically, mentally and in spirit so I can be a better person towards everyone else.

So here they are, my 5776 resolutions! In the new year I want to run a marathon and not just any marathon… the Jerusalem marathon -the bible didn’t lie when it was talking about the ‘hills’ of Jerusalem. I want to be a better vegan and eat healthier (because Oreos are vegan). I want to get into the habit of saying “yes”. I want to start projects today not tomorrow. I want to respect others and to be respected. I want to learn something everyday. I want to learn to be more humble. I want my default reaction to be to help people. I want to be active in my community and make a difference where I can. I want to take action and not be passive. I want to live in the moment and open my eyes to the opportunities around me. I want to be kind. I want to be helpful. I want to love.

Since this is technically a running blog I will mention that I went for a run this morning, the Eve of Rosh Hashanah. I ran 14K with my dad starting from the First Station, working my way up past the King David Hotel, Mamilla, through and around the Old City, along Salah Ad-Din in East Jerusalem, past Mea She’arim and back all the way down the train tracks past the First Station. As a ran through one neighborhood to the next I saw all the people of Jerusalem. From one street filled with Hijabs and Kafiyas to the next street filled with Shtreimels and Payot, to the more secular neighborhoods filled with other runners and shoppers and more diversity than I can even mention. The diversity is what makes Jerusalem such an amazing place to live. My prayer for the new year is may everyone appreciate the diversity that I have come to love, may we wish to live together in peace, with love instead of hate. May we all fulfill our personal resolutions in order to help others. That when we say Yerushalayim Habnuya, we mean a Jerusalem built on love, respect and kindness.

I’m looking forward to my journey and wondering where it will take me in this new year. Have a great holiday, eat well, then run it off the next day (sure…). Happy New Year everybody!