Monday's run was mentioned in my last post, so I'll move on to the highlights of the remainder of the week. Wednesday morning at 5:30am I was out the door to meet my running buddy Tyler. She and I began running together 2 years ago and I am so thankful to have a friend like her to run with when the timing works out. With the traveling my job requires and the recent injury I experienced, we have had trouble finding time to run together on a regular basis. When I texted her Tuesday evening to see if she would be willing to meet me before the sun was up for a measly 3 miler, I had low expectations. Now - to clarify - 3 miles is no distance to balk at and I do not mean to call that distance "measly" in a negative manner. However, when asking a friend that normally runs 6+ miles each day to get up earlier than usual for half of her regular distance, it is asking for a lot. With this in mind, when she texted back that she would love to run with me, I was absolutely thrilled. We chatted the whole way and it felt like old times, then the run was over before I knew it. I was so sweaty that you would have thought I'd run 10 miles. The idea was that getting out the door by 5:30 would eliminate some of the nasty humidity Charlotte has been been experiencing lately, but this was not the case. I am happy to report that the humidity was the only negative aspect of the run, and everything else was perfect. While worried about my leg every step of the way, it never flared up, and I hope that over time I will think about it less and less.
Thursday's run was wonderful, in that Jason and the pups (Roxie and Reese) came with me! We love exploring different parts of Charlotte, and running is a wonderful way to learn about new areas because you move much slower than you would driving around in a car and tend to notice things you would otherwise miss. The sky was looking fairly threatening but we decided to go for it and see what happened. I was shocked as we took our first few steps to find that my legs felt like lead! We have been doing P90X everyday now for 2 weeks, so I knew I would be tired, but this was tough! After a mile my body started to warm up and each step was more comfortable, by the end of the run I felt like myself again. I must brag on the dogs here because they can be hit or miss when running in the heat; Roxie and Reese were awesome the whole way! Roxie looked just as thrilled as I felt to be outside moving for the sake of moving. My leg never caused any problems, but again it was on my mind with almost every step. When the 3 mile mark came and the thunder we had been worried about started rolling in, I was happy to call it quits.
Saturday was my last day of running for the week, and I believe it was a turning point. The morning began with P90X yoga, which if you have never experienced, is extremely challenging. There is no impact in yoga, but some of the poses require strength from muscles that I did not know existed. Jason and I must look hilarious trying to pull off some of these moves, maybe next time I'll take a picture and post it. The funniest part is when Reese (our little dog) gets excited that we are on the floor at her height and thinks it is time to play. While in the pose, downward dog, Reese ran underneath me and started jumping up to my face trying to get kisses. By the time I made my way outside to run it was 1pm so I decided to drive over to booty loop and run around Myers Park for a change of scenery, also most of the loop is in the shade. Two things happened during the run that I am very excited about. The first happened at the 2.5 mile mark: I was running along, enjoying the view of the gorgeous houses on my route, when my watch beeped notifying me of the 0.5 mile split. I looked down, saw the number, and thought, "I hate seeing such slow times!" then it hit me... all I was thinking about was running slow... not my leg! I had gone an entire half mile forgetting that I was worried about an injury! The rest of the run I was able to stop fearing the impact of each step, I feel like I finally let part of my worries go. The second thing that happened was at the very end of the run. I was nearing the parking lot where my car was parked, and my watch showed 4.5 miles. I entered an internal debate between the value in pushing for another half mile to obtain 5 miles even for the day, or settling for the lesser distance knowing that I would finish feeling strong. The competitive side in me knew that doing the additional distance showed mental strength and that pushing for more in any workout helps when you are hurting on race day. Another part of me knew that the smart thing to do was to stop while I was feeling good, and not risk it. In the end, I decided that now is not the time to be competitive, now is the time to run and feel good. It was hard choosing the easier option, but I know it was the right one. Learning to hold back is difficult, but I am sure I will glad I did when I am strong and ready on race day.
Week 1 : Check!
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