Maintain the positivity

I'm not gonna lie i was feeling really down on myself all day. I was and still am a little about my injured heel. This is day 3 of it hurting and i am self diagnosing myself with Plantar Fasciitis. I'm off to see my chiropractor tomorrow (i find he's more like a physiotherapist though with his treatment methods) for an official diagnoses. But i have many of the symptoms (hurts more in the am and gets better throughout the day, dull aching pain) and a few of the risk factors (high arches, an avid runner and tight calf muscles).

While i had been preoccupied with feeling sorry for myself all day it wasn't until i got home and did a 20 minute Lululemon easy yoga workout followed by Tone it up's stretch and release as well as foam roller workout that i started to feel better about my situation and myself. You cannot be too hard on yourself for an injury or play the "what if" game that's not going to help you get any better and it's going to end up delaying the healing process. I need to keep my chin up and keep on trucking. It will get better and i need to think positive thoughts like this to help myself heal and help me get through this. At this point i don't know how long it'll take to heal but i am optimistic that since it's only day 3 and i am smart enough now not to push through and seek help immediately that it will heal quick and if it doesn't then so be it. A longer break then wanted but c'est la vie.

Our bodies are really smart and tell us when we need to dial down the intensity of our workouts and tell us when to give it a rest and do some workouts that are easier on the body. I think it's important to take a week here and there where you aren't as intense with your workouts and walk more, do some easy stretching yoga, easy bike rides etc. I did relax a little after my last half marathon but not enough i only took the day after off and was back to running by Thursday. Perhaps this is a lesson to take more time off running wise after a big race like a half marathon or a full marathon? I still plan on doing the full in May in Ottawa if this heals up quick enough. If it doesn't then Ottawa May 2012 wasn't meant to be as the time to complete my first full marathon. I am going to listen to my body, as hard as it is, and take this time to do lot's of active rest and i can still work on my abs and arms:) So it's a time to concentrate on those areas more. If this ends up being longer than a week off running healing process then i will get back into pool running like i had to a little over a year ago during my last injury. I had hurt my ankle while training for the Legs for Literacy full marathon and never was able to do it.

I'm going to try to keep my head up high and not let this get me down. There is a reason for everything and a lesson to be learned with each set back whether an injury or something else in your life. Life isn't meant to be easy, it's full set backs and roadblocks that make us stronger and better as a person, as a whole.

How do you guys cope with set backs and roadblocks in training and in life? What are your positive strategies to keep positive? I would love to hear them.