Sick, Sick and More Sick!

After three full weeks of being sick, I am finally feeling good enough to run again!  Today was my first run in over two weeks.  I had a run date with a girlfriend who is newish to running.  I took Onya along and we ran three miles on the Waterfront.  I have another run date with a different running friend on Wednesday.  And then, of course, I'm planning a five miler with my running group on Saturday.  I'm also hoping to get out on my bike once or twice this week.  YAY for feeling better! 

Sicko!

I haven't been posting here much because I've been really sick for the past week and a half or so.  In fact, I'm too sick to get to run today's Shamrock Run.  I'm super sad about that and it'll be the first time in five years (I think!) that I haven't run it.  But, with an ear ache, sore throat and cough, I know that the right thing to do is to stay out of the rain and rest. 

Even before this sickness, I was starting to not bike, skate or run as much.  My personal life is primarily to blame for that as I suddenly find myself going through a very, very unplanned, unanticipated and shocking divorce.  While I won't be talking about it much on this blog, it is happening and it is impacting my motivation to exercise...  at least for now.  That said, I'm hopeful that I can get over this cold and get back on track this week.  I really need to start getting focused on Helvetia and undo-ing some of the damage that the last week plus off has done! 

And this too shall pass...

I've been struggling mentally with running since Austin.  I'm getting really good at finding little excuses not to run.  I've gained 4 pounds.  My fitness level has definitely declined.  My pants are fitting a little tighter than I prefer.  So, what's up?  

I don't know, exactly, but I really need to work through it and get back on the right track.  At the same time, I need to remember and realize that marathon training doesn't need to be and maybe shouldn't be an all year kind of thing.  That's a pretty high mileage rate - it takes a lot of time and sucks a lot of energy.  But there does have to be a balance and one shouldn't feel like they're always looking for a excuse to drink wine instead of running!  

Sometimes, it's the fear of the next event that keeps me training.  Lately, I've been doing minimal training but the ONLY reason that I think I've been doing any is that I promised a friend that I'd run her first half marathon with her.  And that was today.  We ran those 13.1 in a solid time and had a great time visiting the whole way.  She ran the last 1.1 perfectly - speeding up just a bit at the 12 mile marker and continuing to slowly accelerate until we saw the 13 mile marker.  At that point, we put the pedal to the metal and sprinted it in!  It was a fast finish and it felt amazing.  

Now that I don't have anything on the calendar, I'm going to have to dig deep and find some other motivator.  In fact, this might be the first time in a very, very long time that I'll be running for nothing, so to speak.  I hope I can get back into my five days a week routine...  I'll keep y'all posted!  

Unplanned Hiatus

For the past two and a half weeks, I have been on an unplanned hiatus from running.  First, I was feeling burned out and overwhelmed with trying to be ready for another marathon in less than two months.  Then, I got new Fingers which gave me a small cut on the outside of my right foot.  After wearing them anyway during a rainy Shamrock Run, I ended up with a sizable open wound instead.  This is when I should have considered taking a couple of days off...

But I didn't and noticed that my left knee was starting to act up.  Figuring it was nothing, I kept at it until my left IT band flared - likely from compensating for that open wound.  I've never had an IT band issue in the past but I've read a lot about them in Runner's World and I was immediately sure that this was what was wrong.  Which was fine because I was starting to come down with a cold and could use a rest.  A trip to my LMT confirmed my IT band fears but she assured me that I could run on it but should maybe take a couple more days off to let the inflammation go down a bit.  No problem as my cold was getting way, way worse. 

Fast forward another week with no running, for a total of two weeks, and my cold/cough was finally nearly gone when I woke up at 4 am on Saturday for a five hour stint with the stomach flu.  So, there went my Saturday running plans!  I finally got back out yesterday for a short 3 1/2 miler with Ty and Onya.  It felt great and I love that my calves are slightly sore and tender today! 

Because I am rather determined and stubborn, this is what my body has to do sometimes to tell me that it needs a break.  I'm listening and, obviously, not running Vernonia.  I've also decided that 2011 is not the year that I tackle my first ultra marathon.  Which is okay - I just need more miles to boost my endurance and strength first.  The time will come.  Until then, I have several half marathons coming up to plan/train for!! 

Honestly, the time away from running has been good.  I feel recharged and ready to run again.  It helped me realize that I needed to back off from some of this year's goals and make them longer term because I'm just not up to them.  At first, I was feeling badly about this and I'll admit that it is disappointing.  But sometimes part of the journey is realizing that there are things you can and things you can not do.  As this endless winter finally starts to fade, I have decided that outdoor time BBQ'ing with friends will be a higher priority than spending 10 hours every weekend running.   For now and for me, this is the right choice.