This year, I've been closely following a guide that Runners' World put out on being a fitter, faster runner.
The plan for August is to rediscover your running mojo...which is perfect when I'm in the process of rediscovering running.
While this wasn't a major injury...I hesitate to even call my knee issue an injury sometimes...it definitely kept me from running and sidelined my training for over 4 weeks.
Now that I am running again, and trying being as smart as I possibly can in my return to running, I can easily say that it has been both insanely gratifying and humbling at the same time.
My first long run of training was 9 miles...it was hard...one of the hardest training runs I've ever done. Every part of me wanted to stop every step of the way.
The 12 miles I did this past weekend? They were tough, but I felt strong for the first 7 or 8 miles before things to tough and that's ok, it's normal.
Last night, I was planning on getting a pedicure after work. I decided to go for a run instead. I was only going to run 4 or 5 but the second my feet started hitting the pavement, I knew I wanted to go further...so I did. I ran 7 miles along the Potomac and every single step of that run was a reminder of why I love this sport.
I felt strong. I felt happy.
I felt exactly the way I hope to feel during Marine Corps. Great runs like that are few and far between. Since bouncing back from injury, I can say that I've had two of them...and I hope to have more.
I didn't run a spring marathon because I was burned out. I felt like I had been in training for almost two years non-stop...between marathons and half-marathons and half-marathons as training runs, and in a sense, I kind of was. I took a month off of training after Cleveland, and when I bounced back, I got hurt...not because I bounced back too quickly, just because I did...and you know what?
It was exactly what I needed. It was frustrating, but doing yoga through the entire injury definitely gave me my daily sweat fix. (Yoga is something I definitely need to get back to).
So I've rediscovered my running mojo and I'm more ready than ever to tackle these long training runs. It's a little crazy to think that I started training just 12 weeks out because I don't feel like I have "plenty of time" like I usually do...I feel like I can't fuck around and hey, maybe that's what I need to really give myself that crazy 1 minute and 6 second edge I need to finally cross the Finish Line with a big, shiny LED illuminated 3 on it.
The plan for August is to rediscover your running mojo...which is perfect when I'm in the process of rediscovering running.
While this wasn't a major injury...I hesitate to even call my knee issue an injury sometimes...it definitely kept me from running and sidelined my training for over 4 weeks.
Now that I am running again, and trying being as smart as I possibly can in my return to running, I can easily say that it has been both insanely gratifying and humbling at the same time.
My first long run of training was 9 miles...it was hard...one of the hardest training runs I've ever done. Every part of me wanted to stop every step of the way.
The 12 miles I did this past weekend? They were tough, but I felt strong for the first 7 or 8 miles before things to tough and that's ok, it's normal.
Last night, I was planning on getting a pedicure after work. I decided to go for a run instead. I was only going to run 4 or 5 but the second my feet started hitting the pavement, I knew I wanted to go further...so I did. I ran 7 miles along the Potomac and every single step of that run was a reminder of why I love this sport.
I felt strong. I felt happy.
I felt exactly the way I hope to feel during Marine Corps. Great runs like that are few and far between. Since bouncing back from injury, I can say that I've had two of them...and I hope to have more.
I didn't run a spring marathon because I was burned out. I felt like I had been in training for almost two years non-stop...between marathons and half-marathons and half-marathons as training runs, and in a sense, I kind of was. I took a month off of training after Cleveland, and when I bounced back, I got hurt...not because I bounced back too quickly, just because I did...and you know what?
It was exactly what I needed. It was frustrating, but doing yoga through the entire injury definitely gave me my daily sweat fix. (Yoga is something I definitely need to get back to).
So I've rediscovered my running mojo and I'm more ready than ever to tackle these long training runs. It's a little crazy to think that I started training just 12 weeks out because I don't feel like I have "plenty of time" like I usually do...I feel like I can't fuck around and hey, maybe that's what I need to really give myself that crazy 1 minute and 6 second edge I need to finally cross the Finish Line with a big, shiny LED illuminated 3 on it.
I absolutely love that quote! It is so true!
ReplyDeleteI need a pedicure - but keep going on runs, instead! Yoga stretches have helped me through a bad injury, too (Plus my TriggerPoint roller).
ReplyDelete