Still Sore But...

My Purple Pavement Eaters

Despite how sore and awful I felt, I still went out for a short run in honor of those that could not run today. I probably should have taken it easy, but with all the anxiety and stress, I wouldn't have been able to move on with my day without doing something active that I enjoyed.

Yes, it was just slightly painful, and yes, I will have my legs and my back look at tomorrow by Neurosport Atlanta. Hopefully they will be able to give me an answer as to what has been going on with my body and why I am unable to handle stresses that I would normally have no issues handling.

On a side note, I am glad to say that I will be resuming my training with my wonderful friend and trainer tomorrow. I have missed all the encouragement and all the "good" pain that she can deliver. Her workouts never disappoint and the passion and energy that she feels for her job and her clients is contagious to say the least. Easily, she is the most positive person I know. I am so glad to be back working out with her!

Boston Tragedy: Stay Strong, Guys!

I have no words to describe how deeply upset I am about the tragedy that happened today. So many runners dream of the day they take their place at the start line of Boston Marathon. Some train for years to get their chance to run  in one of the most revered marathons in the world. Some never get in, others get in with mere seconds to spare. It is an iconic running event, for some, it is a privilege to run it.  My personal goal is to run Boston in two years and I know that there were runners there today that  visualized the day they take the Heartbreak Hill the same way I do during my training.  It saddens me that such an event was targeted. 

Despite the fact that any deliberate harm brought to a person by another is just wrong, what makes this attack absolutely heinous,  is that most of those runners had very little left  in their "gas tank" after already running 26.2 miles for 4 hours. I can only imagine how defenseless and weak some must have felt trying to save themselves from the blasts and being unable to due to pure exhaustion. 

My heart goes out to all runners and their family members who fell victim to this awful attack. I hope that whoever did this is brought to justice.

Run Therapy.

Yes, I know I missed a couple of days of posts. In the last few days I had a few family issues that will not be discussed here, and honestly, I just couldn't bring myself to write. Today I feel much better so, here I am, back at it.

When I woke up this morning, the sky was gray and it looked like it was going to rain. I have been so stressed and angry during the last few days that I decided to go for a run regardless of the weather. I got to the local high school track, put on my minimalist shoes and went for a warm-up lap. I love my new shoes. I will post pics of them later this week.

Before my run.  I was much sweatier after. :)

The moment I took off at an easy pace around the football field, I felt my anxiety melt away. By the time I was done with my warm up I almost felt like a normal person. I started into my sprints, and after the first few steps, feeling the wind on my face, allowing the gravity to pull me towards my goal, I realized that I am so incredibly grateful for this thing called "running".

There are very few times in life when one can feel more alive than during a run. Think about it, you are more tuned in to your own body during a run then during any other activity (well, yoga and meditation aside). It is hard to explain to those that do not run regularly the joy that I find in the moment when I have to fully retreat into myself in order to push through a "wall" and realize how alive and how powerful I am. The combination of sounds of my foot falls, my breathing, my heart beat, all make a beautiful symphony or life. The burn of the quads (sprints), calves and hamstrings (hill drills), produce the pain that can only be described as "good". After all, it means that I am getting stronger, faster, more efficient.  

In the recent issue of Runner's World, there was an article about running and pain. What stood out the most to me, was the part where the author talked about his difficulty explaining to none runners that he enjoys the pain of the run.  It is true, I noticed that in my own daily interactions. Most normal people consider  pain bad and for a good reason. Nothing good comes out of pain, but for a runner the spectrum of "pain" is expended. There is a difference between being in pain, and being painfully injured. You stop running when you are injured, but you run through the pain. Pain simply means that there is a untapped potential. That there is still room to push and grow.

I remember running my first 10k. I pushed, I fought, and I finished. To be honest, it got painful on mile three and I still had more than half of the distance to go. I accepted it, I pushed through it, and with that acceptance came a personal victory and a 10k PR.

Same happened today. The weather was perfect: 58 degrees, overcast, low humidity, it was the best time to run! When I took off in a sprint, I felt free. Five laps later (sprinting the straights and walking the curves) I had to retreat inward to find strength, to fight through the wall. Lap six and seven felt easy. I even jogged the curves instead of walking. My sprint speed increased too! I went back to walking through the curves in  lap eight, but my sprint speed continued to increase. I was blown away and absolutely happy.

Allergies? Cold? Weight lifting? Crossfit?

Although I am not too sure if I am having a really bad case of allergies or if I am beginning to get sick. Regardless, I pushed through my cardio today just in case it is allergies. I regret nothing! Well, maybe I regret that I only had 20 minutes... Either way, it is so unfair to feel this under the weather just days before my race. If I don't feel absolutely horrible tomorrow, I have a date with Murph and hopefully some sore back muscles afterwards. I guess when lifting doesn't get you sore, turn to crossfit! I have high hopes for you, Murph! Don't let me down!

All I Need is 20 Minutes to Feel Human Again.

In the last few days my workout times have been all over the road. I am a person of routine and consistency, I got my body use to having a natural boost of endorphins in the morning and having to work out at night have turned me into a grumpy, stressed, mean girl. I am making it an effort to get my workouts back on normal morning schedule. Even if it means getting to the gym at 5 am.  

That being said, I don’t know what I would have done to the world today if it had been for my 20 minutes of cardio this evening. I wish I had the time for a full 45, but 20 is all I had to spare. I guess you have to get it in where you can, right?

HIIT Track Workout.

Had a great stadium workout this afternoon! It was hard, it was sweaty, I wanted to crawl into a tiny ball and cry, but I finished it. I all but crawled through my cool down, but I got through it and there is nothing like the feeling of satisfaction at the end of a brutal run.  I have this gem posted on my Workout page. It is the It is the High Intensity Interval Track Workout. Enjoy.

No More Doubting!!!

Oh, I really should kick all this doubting out of my life for good. My legs are sore today! Yay! I went out to the gym and hit the treadmill for some speed work on an incline. My legs began to feel weak 15 minutes into my intervals, but I finished strong. I can’t wait to be able to run outside! All this pollen is really getting to me today.

The Trees Did It!

I most definitely miss running in the “heard”. I can’t wait for the next race (3/23/13)!!! Woohoo STAMPEDE!!!

Today was my cardio day. I planned to go out and run splits on a neighboring high school’s track, but I did not make it. Despite the fact that spring was not suppose to come early this year, the trees decided to bloom anyway.  It is a little disappointing considering that it was a beautiful, sunny day. Instead of getting my well deserved dose of vitamin D I had to go to the gym and run on the treadmill. The workout itself went well, although I think I should aim to increase my incline a little to make it more difficult. I am pretty sure that I could have given it a little more than I did. I am miserable. I think it might be time for an allergy shot already.