To Run or Not to Run...is there a question?

Yesterday I chose to sleep in instead of getting up to meet the team for our 10 mile run. At the time it seemed like a great idea, and ultimately, I think my body needed a little extra sleep for healing. This 2nd month of Insanity videos have been a bit rough. They are about an hour long each. Well, I hadn't finished my videos for the week, so I thought it would be a GREAT idea to do the one scheduled BEFORE my run (I knew there was no way I'd do it after my run). So I popped in the video, worked up a sweat and then headed out on my 10 mile "easy" run (it was supposed to be a recovery run but there was nothing easy about it). I'm out of sports drink mix, so I found some old Emergen-C (sp?) and threw that in one of my bottles, which turned out to be a bit of a blunder later.

I should have known the run was going to be rough. Emotionally I wasn't feeling up to the task, I was tired, and it was crappy weather. Fortunately, I only got misted on (the clouds looked threatening but they never down-poured on me). I ran from my house on N Skidmore and Kerby, south to Broadway, over the Broadway bridge to Naito/Front and then did 2 loops around the waterfront. At about mile 2, which was just about at the end of the Broadway bridge, I decided I should drink some of the liquid I was carrying (I have a sports fanny pack that holds 2 water bottles and other such items I might need, like food, house keys, cell phone, etc.). I pulled out the one w/ the Emergen-C and took a swig. I put the bottle back, continued running only to notice minutes later that my back was all wet. The dumb bottle was leaking the drink everywhere. I stopped, grabbed the bottle and thought holding it would help. That just caused my hands to become super sticky. I then tried drinking a ton of it, thinking if the liquid level was lower it wouldn't splash everywhere. Eventually I got the liquid level down to where it wasn't splashing, but I had sticky hands the rest of the run, which was driving me crazy.

I had to work to get myself out of the obsessive mindset of focusing on my sticky hands and how crappy the run was going because I still had 8 more miles to go. Eventually, while running on the waterfront, my attitude shifted. There were so many people out, even in crappy weather. And there are always great people watching opportunities by the Saturday Market, so eventually I finished my loop and was about to start heading back home.

By about mile 6-7, my feet were hurting, which means I need new shoes OR it means that the plyometric workout in Insanity is a BAD idea to do before a long run (too much pounding w/ all of the jumping exercises). My only thought was that it is probably good training for Ironman because my feet/legs will be tired when I start the marathon at the end but I'll still need to push through.

Eventually, I hobbled home. I walked a good portion of the last 1-2 miles of the 10 mile run. It was fine, but not the best run I've been on in awhile. I kept trying to remind myself that crappy runs just help me to appreciate the GREAT runs all the more!

Today I have another Insanity video to do but thankfully no running today. I also have to work, which is a bummer because it's so beautiful outside. Oh well...

The middle

Things have been busy, and yes, I have been training. I finished five weeks of the Insanity video series (only missed one day of the recovery week otherwise I did all 24 days of the first month). Tomorrow I start month two of the Insanity videos. Beyond that, I have been swimming once a week and am still training for the Rock in Roll San Diego Marathon in June.

Last weekend I drove down to sunny California to ride the Cinderella Classic bike ride in the Bay Area. I had yet to get on a bike this season, so I was nervous about the ride. It was 64 miles and was relatively flat. I ended up really enjoying the ride. In the beginning, I about burned out my legs trying to pass this pack of women that were going slower than I wanted to go. The cycle club I passed ended up passing me later in the morning, but I passed them at the first aid station and they never passed me again. (Not that I'm competitive or anything.) :-) The second half of the ride was in Livermore, north of 580. The wind was blowing fairly hard and I was VERY thankful for my little tri bike Roo. I was down in the aero position and loving life. The bike ride really made me remember and realize just how much I love riding that bike (she is a fast little guy)! It also made me long to move back to California (man I miss the sun and glorious weather). I ended the ride at about 64.9 miles, in about 4 hours and 30 minutes, with an average speed of about 14.36 miles per hour and a max speed of 33 miles per hour. Not bad for my first ride of the season. Now I need to get on the bike at least 2x a week and start doing some long rides on the weekends.

Then today I had a training run with Team In Training. I did 13 miles with the first half heading up Thurman to Forest Park (ugh on the hill running!). But I actually really enjoyed the run. During the run, my friend Erin mentioned that there are 2 kinds of athletes that partake in the sport of running: people who run and those who are runners. I am a person that runs. I don't make the sport look easy, I'm not built for running but yet, I still get out there and slog my way through it.

It's amazing how when I started the marathon training a few months ago, I was thinking about just how hard it is to start training, especially since I allowed myself to get out of shape. And I remember thinking that at some point I will realize just how far I've come and how easy the workouts have gotten compared to how hard they were in the beginning. Flash forward a couple of months to today. On the 13 mile run, I had that moment of realization that running is easier again. The 2 mile training runs I did in the beginning are no longer hard or challenging. I don't know how it happens, but it does. The body is truly an amazing thing! Our ability to adapt and get stronger is miraculous. And it happens without our full realization. I don't know why this kind of stuff blows my mind. I guess I am just trying to appreciate my progress even though I fully know I have a long way to go yet. Ironman Canada is still 4.5 months away. :-}

Anything is possible, and yes you can. Two mottos I keep in my mental pocket for moments when negative self talk sets in. And if that isn't enough, I can always look down at the tattoo on the inside of my left wrist to remind myself that yes I can, and I have. I have already completed one Ironman. I can do it again.

Here's to staying healthy and continuing to get stronger.

YAY IM CANADA, eh!?!