Angel, Devil Both Make Compelling Case for Skipping Run
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A local runner this morning found herself caught in the middle of two inner voices, both urging her to take the same course of action.
Diana Prince, 36, had planned to run six miles but woke up feeling unmotivated—a feeling that only grew over the course of her morning, she said.
“I was going to head out at lunchtime,” Prince told Dumb Runner by phone. “But I was just not feeling it. At all.”
By noon, Prince said, she knew she had to make a decision.
“Suddenly, it was like a tiny devil appeared on my shoulder,” she said, “like in the movies or something. The devil told me to skip the run and have a nap or something instead, and mentioned that missing one little run wouldn’t hurt me, in the grand scheme of things.”
Immediately after that, said Prince, a tiny angel appeared on the opposite shoulder.
“The angel thought for a moment, then said the devil actually had a good point,” she said. “She reminded me that rest and recovery are part of training, too, and that it’s important to listen to your body.”
The angel endorsed the idea of a nap, citing the restorative benefits of a short midday snooze, and Prince ultimately followed that advice.
At last report, Prince had curled up on her couch and woken up 90 minutes later, feeling groggy and sore.
