Mileage challenge; day of rest

After running 3.1 miles yesterday (my weekly "long" run distance right now), today I should not run.  Oh sure, you say, she's backing out of the running thing on day 2 of her blog!  What a whimp!  Au contraire, my friend.  According to many Runners World articles, netcommunity podcasts, and perhaps the Almighty Him/Herself (assuming His/Her long run was on Saturdays), the day after the long run is, indeed, a day of rest. 

Although I don't always apply marathon runners' advice to my measly mileage, I have learned that I shouldn't run too frequently after a break or I'll get injured.  I've been fortunate those injuries are usually just chronic cramping in the calf or soleus or hip, but when it is bad enough it can stop my running completely for a few days or even a week and then I'm back where I started.  

So today was a pseudo-rest day.  But before you picture me sitting on steverunner's "couch of doom," I must say that I did take 14,760 steps today.  My workplace has a mileage challenge going on right now and I'm on a team with 4 colleagues competing against ~600 other teams to log miles over a few months.  To track the steps, I wear a pedometer for tracking daily walking, add my running/walking for exercise mileage (1 mile = 2,000 steps), and use the conversion chart for other activities such as volleyball. 

Today I coached my daughter's volleyball team and got quite a workout during that time as I played pepper with them and tried to speed up their reflexes a bit.  I also walked/jogged to the gym since it was only about .75 mile from home. 

I expect tomorrow to be a difficult day.  My husband and I have an appointment with the surgical oncologist to try to figure out our next step for addressing the malignant cells found in my breast about 10 days ago.  Since I was referred to a surgeon, I suspect surgery is a likely option, but I know very little about the dianosis or options at this point.  Tomorrow, I hope we get some good news in the midst of this difficult ordeal.