2012 can be defined as the year my training is entirely focused around one race (well, technically two – the Olympic Trials has a preliminary race and a final race, but you get the point). It’s my first year out in the real world of running, as a “professional,” and, to be quite frank, I’m taking it kind of hard. I have tunnel vision; it’s hard to find a victory or a success in everyday training because I’m often so fixated on “making the Olympic team.” It’s not a healthy way to train and it’s certainly not a happy way to train.

A month ago, something happened that (thankfully) rarely happens to me – I got hurt. I am a pretty stalwart athlete and while little aches and pains come up all the time, I never really need to take time off of training or ease up in my intensity because of it. If I’m having trouble training, it’s only because I have a major injury.

That didn’t happen this time – I’m major injury-free! – but it is the first time in my career that running with ease (and without pain or anxiety) fluctuates on a daily basis. I had a bad bout of shin splints – from what, I’m not sure – and I had to take some time to just run “easy,” with no workouts or major steeple work. There were a few weekends in March and early April where I didn’t run at all. I had one big steeple workout before my shins took over my life and since then, I’ve been taking everything really slowly.

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