I saw my phys­i­cal ther­a­pist today for the first time since before my back surgery. After she showed me the exer­cises and stretches I am to do, I mus­tered up the energy to ask a ques­tion I thought I didn’t want to hear the answer to. I hes­i­tantly men­tioned that I had my eye on a 10k trail race in Decem­ber. I cringed, wait­ing for her to tell me there was no way in hell she was going to let me run any time this year.