The many faces of an injury

The month of February seems to be a cruel one for my body. For the second year in a row it seems I have encountered an overuse injury after building up a running base of a few months. It's almost like my body wants to teach me a lesson just when my confidence is strong and I feel ready to tackle a new goal race.
The injuries like to move around my body and reappear in a new place. And just when you feel like you've mastered the issue that pesky injury just shifts to a new spot. It's like whack-a-mole with my body.
Over the past week I discovered a new muscle or tendon at the very top of my calf where it meets the back of the knee. I believe it's just a result of tightness in my achilles and lower calf. Anyway, it sends me through the same progression as always.

First up is denial. Feel a little something during a run. In my mind I'm thinking this will pass in the next couple miles. Or, when I wake up tomorrow all should be fine.

Next is some nice obsessive research. Read every online article about the potential injury. Causes, treatment, prevention blah blah blah.

Let's try some third party assessment or treatment. I'm currently trying ART at a chiropracter. Also had a running analysis. Did I mention acupuncture?

It's time for anger and frustration to make an entrance. Every little occurance during the day can piss you off because you've had to adjust your running schedule or worse, eliminate it.

And now we're to depression. "will I ever be able to run healthy?"

I would like to apologize to all those around me as I move through these stages, especially my wife. I guess it's difficult for me to take on these speed bumps. Some people thrive off the challenge, but I would not be one of those people. Coping with these injuries is a struggle for me. I would love to hear about other people's experiences with how they stay healthy or how they recover from setbacks.

For now, I need to get back to googling the popliteus muscle.