Better or not?

As a runner, I've often asked myself precisely that question when injured. I've been running around 30mpw for the past couple of weeks, but my legs don't feel much different from how they were a month ago.

Should I take some time off? Sure. But not running is hard for me since I don't have exercise equipment here other than a treadmill. It's too cold for biking, and walking doesn't seem any easier on my body than running at an easy pace. So I plod along at 8:30 pace on the treadmill, speeding up the last couple of miles, but never going really fast.

What I AM doing is strengthening the back and shoulders. I do a lot of new exercises. Also one of the oldest: I'm up to 50 push-ups at a time. It reminds me of my years at AE Wright Middle School. We used to do so many push-ups during PE class, they became second nature. But now, they're a new challenge. Marathoning can really weaken other non-running parts of the body. It's part of why I'm losing interest in running them: I want to be more fit, not the walking wounded.