Vacation and Motivation

Back from the Bahamas!  :)

Ok, so I've been back over a week now and am just now updating. Sue me. I had an amazing time on vacation. Mom and I got along really well and I'm so glad I had her company for the trip. Three days at the yoga ashram at Paradise Island to rebalance and recenter, then another three days in Nassau. Despite having permission from my chiro to do light running (barefoot only, on the beach), I chose not to. The yoga classes and all the walking/swimming/snorkeling we did was more than enough movement for me.  I really just wanted to let my legs calm down.

I have a laundry list of corrective exercises to do but I can't say as I'm doing a good job remembering. I was the same way when I went through physical therapy for my hamstring. Makes for a waste of time and money when I don't follow through on the things that will keep me healthy and make me a better runner. I was supposed to go back to the chiro this week for follow up and clearance to run, but when I arrived home from vacation I found out that my insurance was cancelled. Awesome. I called to cancel my future appts and spoke with my chiro for a few minutes to get his advice on what I should do next.

He gave me the go ahead to try and run, seeing as I'm not experiencing any pain. He also reminded me that I need to keep up with the exercises, as those are what will, in theory, solve my problem and prevent future issues. I admit that I cheated and ran once over the past weekend, but I'd already committed to running this virtual race in memory of murdered runner Sarah Hart and didn't think I had a good enough reason not to participate. It was an incredibly slow 4 miles with D, but I finished and felt nothing beyond the normal discomfort from not running in a while.

Once I was officially good to go, I decided to join the PR Thursday night run. I was there working anyways, and we're allowed to participate in the runs, so I gave it a shot. The route was 5.2 miles and the group going was mostly male and mostly fast. I had a feeling I'd be on my own and bringing up the rear, but I didn't want that to discourage me. I'm tired of giving myself reasons not to run. An added bonus was being given the opportunity to test drive shoes from Adidas.  The rep was at the store for the night and all the run participants had the chance to run in a selection of their product line.

I chose the Aegis, mostly because it was the prettiest. I can't lie. The model we carry in the store is a different color and pretty bland, so rocking the hot pink version was cool.  It isn't the shoe for me, but it was fun to test it out. The run itself was fine as far as the course went, nothing I haven't trained on before. The familiarity definitely helped me keep going, as I was tired early on but wanted to keep going.  I finished second to last, but I finished and I'm glad I made myself go. I am surprisingly sore today and that makes me even more nervous about my long run tomorrow.

The last long run I finished was 12 miles, the day of my double. The long run the week after that was a 16 miler, of which I completed one mile before I had to stop because of pain. The next weekend was vacation and the Saturday after that was the short virtual run. In other words, it has been a while since I've gone long and I'm not sure how best to approach it. Slowly, of course. But do I commit to the full 14? Nevermind that it includes the loop of Haines Point. The first time we did this run, I had to cut it short and do 10. I emailed Tuan for advice, and I'm expecting to be told to suck it up any second now.

So, that is where things are.  I'm having a really hard time being motivated to run and time is ticking by. The idea of dropping down to the half in Richmond has crossed my mind, but I'm waiting for advice from others before I make a final decision. I have a trail half in 4 weeks, and Ragnar 2 weeks after that, so I need to get back into a groove and fast. I'm just scared that it will be painful and that I'll be slower than I'm used to (which really discourages me), so instead of trying I just don't bother. I know it is the wrong way to approach the situation and that makes me more depressed, and I cycle on from there.

If you made it this far, thanks. This training cycle is so different from MCM last year. Not that it was easy, but I feel like I sailed through it in comparison to what it feels like this time around. Has anyone had a similar experience? I need a swift kick in the butt and some really good luck. Send any good vibes you can spare my way, and I'll let you know how tomorrow pans out.