Jens Voigt, a much-loved professional cyclist who is now retired, made famous the phrase, “Shut up legs.”  He would say this when he was pushing the pace and fighting the pain in his legs.

Today, while running 6.5 miles, I soon realized “Shut up knees” may become my new mantra.  The last 1.5 miles involved some pretty intense knee pain, so I channeled my inner-Jens and told them to shut up.  I’m sure I’ll pay for it tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.   But it’s all part of the “fun” journey to running a half marathon, and later, competing in an Ironman.

So I will embrace the pain, complain a little (ok, maybe a lot), and keep pushing my body beyond what my mind wants it to do.   Assuming I can get out of bed tomorrow…