Am I the only person out there who relates every single event in life to my spiritual growth? Sometimes, I want to believe that events in life are just random and insignificant in meaning, But being an introspective thinker, I am always looking for the lesson...the opportunity to examine and grow.

You see, I don't do anything less than 100%. I tend to jump in with both feet and give whatever I am attempting to achieve, my all. I can be pretty extreme (everyone that knows me in real life now nods and agrees:) For example, I absolutely love cycling and would give my right arm to purchase a bike. My friend let me borrow one over the summer when I was having IT band issues. I enjoyed a few rides before going out on a 30 miler with my BRP Jenny. The ride was a breeze but I fell and broke my wrist and  Injury number 4 ensued. I had to have surgery.

Why is this an example you might ask? Well, because maybe my all or nothing attitude lead to a 30 mile bike ride...perhaps I should've just enjoyed cycling around town for a while. And maybe, just maybe I shouldn't have continued for 28 miles then ran a mile with a broken wrist...hmm, did I injure my head when I crashed?

So, four weeks ago when I started having pain, I wanted to smack myself for once again forgetting what my running journey is truly all about. You see, I started doing speed work again. I was very cautious about this and put it off as long as possible. My running group was ready to get back into these drills and I was nervous.

Once we started doing them, it felt so good to go fast again. With seeing miles in the 8's, I felt like I was flying. It was a great feeling of accomplishment and freedom.

But, I guess somewhere along the way, my speed became too important. I forgot the reasons I love running. Things like alone time with God, self discovery and just pure peace. This time, it wasn't weeks and weeks that I got to be lost in my self absorbed regimen and pride induced denial; it was only a period of weeks. Three weeks to be exact.

I guess I can be thankful for that.

I tried to learn from my past mistakes and take time off. In the past, I spent too many hours running through pain which only perpetuated my injuries. this time, I immediately took a full week off and scheduled an appt with my chiropractor. I visited his office three times the first week receiving friction therapy (picture foam rolling on steroids) and a deep tissue massage. During this time, I would attempt a run here and there with little to no pain. But once I went full back into training, the pain gripped me and at its worst, my leg buckled under me.

Since that last painful run, I have taken off 5 days. It's hard to believe it's only been 5 days. It seems like an eternity. I plan on attempting my long run of 10 miles this weekend. I'm telling myself that if there is pain, to just bike it (borrowing Jenny's bike) I really hope i can be this smart.

I look around my group of girls and they rarely get injured. It can be so frustrating. I know I have it in me to run and I plan on doing it for life. So, what are my lessons here? Am I "thinking too much" and an injury is just an injury, nothing deeper?

What injuries have you experienced and what have you learned from them?

Help a girl out...clearly I am not getting it..