Sunday, March 25, 2012

Thoughts on a week of rest!

This is my friend Jaclyn and I last Sunday at brunch in DC! She completed her first half marathon last weekend and I am SO proud of her. She's been one of my best friends for almost 10 years now and any time spent with her is beyond enjoyable. She is truly one of my favorite people on this earth!

Since we are talking about last Sunday, let's go ahead and say that it's also the last time my feet have hit the pavement. I went on a shakeout run with Theodora last Sunday night when I got home from DC and haven't ran since. Not because I didn't want to, but because I physically could not. Post race I was having a decent amount of pain in my right shin and figured that with compression sleeves/rest it might help. On Monday the pain increased, and moved from my shin down to my ankle. On Tuesday morning when I woke up after sleeping in the sleeves, I could tell that my ankle was very very swollen. I could barely walk. Each step was a painful reminder that something was wrong. By Wednesday night the pain had diminished some, and on Thursday my doctor friend took a look at it and said that while it was swollen it did not seem to be anything too drastic. He assured me that rest/ice/elevation were very very important in the next few days, and said he wanted me to rest from running for an entire week which would mean no running till Monday. I am planning on heading out for 3-4 miles tomorrow morning and praying that my body cooperates.

I feel like despite the frustrating feeling of not being able to run (or walk comfortably for that matter) I've had a lot of time to think about running and what role I want it to play in my life. This week had lots of up and downs... both emotionally and physically. I wondered and questioned my training, my body, my endurance, my passion, my goals, my desires, etc. I had lots of time to think since I wasn't working out! I came to the conclusion that running is and will be a big part of my life for a long time, but I've also realized that I want to be smart. I put a TON of pressure on myself before last weekend. I had a meltdown when I realized how many hills there were and that's just not something that needs to happen. That much pressure takes the fun out of what this should be about! Here's the thing. I want to ENJOY running without the pressure of feeling like I have to PR every single time. Yes, it's important to set goals and push yourself, but not to the level where it's the most important thing in your life. The bottom line is that I love running, but running doesn't define me, and never will. It's a part of my life, but not my life. I want to get better sure, but not at the cost of injuring myself for good. I want to move forward and be smart and truly always listen to my body. I am not superwoman. And while some may disagree, 13.1 miles is a respectable distance. It's not a joke what your body goes through in those 2+hrs. Maybe this week was needed both for physical rest, but also for me to be able to have a more healthy relationship with running in my mind. I'm excited about races to come, and want to excel, but not at the cost of my sanity! :) This is a recreation, not my job! In 3 weeks from today I'll run the More/Fitness half and after this week I'll evaluate what my goals can realistically be!

Happy Sunday, friends!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Rock and Roll: DC Style



So, I have to admit... I'm just not much of a blogger! I always have full intentions to be better and post my thoughts but it just doesn't always happen! However, after this weekend and already reading all the race recaps I'm inspired to possibly start blogging more. No promises though :)



Here's my shiny metal that I WON! :) HA!

I'm going to go ahead and put it out there from the get go and say that I didn't hit my goal of Sub 2hrs. I finished in 2:07:20. I'm sure your immediate thoughts are that I'm disappointed, upset, etc. To be quite honest I realized at mile 10 that I would not be hitting that goal, and when I crossed the finish line I honestly was not disappointed AT ALL. I was proud of my time because I knew that the course was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. It had a lot of hills and I had done very minimal hill training, etc. Lots of factors played into my time, but I don't want to write them out because they are boring. My perspective is simply that Saturday was not by day for Sub 2... but it's coming. And it's coming in 2012. Mark my words.

I won't bore you with all the details of my race. What's done is done. I've looked at my stats, and realized I made some rookie mistakes in the beginning. Miles 1-6 were fabulous, 6-9 were tough, 10-13.1 were just rough. Hey, at least I'm being honest. I will say that I ran a 8:30 MILE in a RACE! That's about the same time as my speed workouts... I guess they worked? :)

This post is mainly to reflect on how far I have come in this whole running journey. If you don't know my story, I started "running/jogging" about two years ago. While I was on the train home yesterday it dawned on me that two years ago I could BARELY run one mile. On Saturday I ran 13.1 (13.24 according to Garmin but who's counting :) ) I have come a long way, friends. A very, very long way. In fact, this was only the third race I have ever done in my life. I have many years/races in the future to improve on my time, so not hitting my goal on Saturday is just not going to get me down. I am mostly thankful to have a body that is able to do that. If you didn't know in October of 2009, I decided that I was tired of living in a body that wasn't healthy. I was overweight, unmotivated, and had no energy! I told myself, enough is enough! Over the course of 9 months I lost 95 pounds, and since June of 2010 have never looked back. I'm doing things in my life that I never thought would be possible. So today, I'l rejoice in the fact that I have a brand new PR (Personal Record). To God be the Glory.

TEXAS REPRESENT: Morgan, Jaclyn, and Me!

Overall, a fabulous weekend. No regrets. No disappointments! The support that I've felt in this journey overwhelms me. I have some really awesome friends. Thank you all!


A VERY VERY special thank you to a woman who devotes so much time to me: Michele . I could not be more thankful for you! :)

Up Next: More/Fitness Half Marathon on April 15th in Central Park! LET'S GET IT!