Update 2.19.10

I haven’t written an update in a while. That’s because I hit a wall. And learned from it!

For two weeks, I could barely move from over training. I was tired and in pain. I decided I would reduce my miles, and started healing immediately. I’m now back to being able to run, and workout, without hurting myself. That is, run at a much lower mileage.

My big crash course education in all this is a lesson I have already learned again and again. Don’t over-reach. Stay within reasonable and healthy limits. Slow down.

So, out of all of this I made a big decision; I have decided to run the seven mile race instead of the half marathon.

At first my reasoning was that perhaps I’m just “not built” for distance running, or racing at all. What I have learned since I made the decision is that people train for a long time to get to the place I was trying to get to much too quickly.

It’s likely that had I not had to have an appendectomy in November, I would have been able to run the half marathon, no problem. Had I been running two miles daily, and then four, and then up to the training regimen I jumped into in the end of December – still with an aching side – I would have been able to pull off the half. Maybe not with flying colors, but the training wouldn’t have kicked my ass the way it did, for sure.

Now that I’m running the 7 mile, some of the ease has come to running. I’m doing some nice strength building. I’m back on my game.

Sometimes a smaller game is a better one. One you know you can complete. One you know you can stay on top of. One you know isn’t going to hurt you.

The big birthday gift has morphed; not a half marathon. A new sense of rapport in my physiology. A new sense of trust and love for the being that is me, amalgamated. Body, mind, spirit. All working toward one goal; better health, and joy in the process. The process is, after all, the true product. Every moment of it; as consciously as possible.

Huge thanks to Runners World for reinforcing my decision and making me feel smart instead of wimpy. Thanks to Born to Run (book, not song) for teaching me so much about what it takes to run, and how to do it right. Thanks to Beth for being my willing buddy. Thanks to me, for continuing to learn to listen better, and to respect limits when they come up.

And today I leave you all with a very smart post form Active.com, on how to incorporate hill running into your workouts. (Another thing I tried to roll into too quickly.)

I hope you can learn something from my experience! I know I have.