April 4, 2010

Good Friday (Saturday and Sunday, too)

Sometimes you have THOSE runs, the runs that are meant to be. Those runs that clarify WHY you are a runner and define the runner inside you. I had one of those on Good Friday. Then I had another, and another. These runs weren't blazing speeds or crazy PRs. They were training runs- all simple in type. Why am I choosing to blog on *just* training runs? Well, I've been waiting to feel this way for soooooo long. After today's run, after 3 glorious days worth of running, I realized how much of myself, my spirit, specifically, I'd really lost. Along with an AWESOME Easter Basket, I got a small piece of my runner self; the missing part has been found!

Let's start with Friday. Thursday night was a Pig Out Mexican Feast w/ the gals, to celebrate the end of State testing. I also had a few adult beverages, something I don't do too often. I was a bit weary as to how I would feel on Friday morning, but here it went. I got out just before dawn and it was soooo foggy, but I got to see the sunrise. This was just a regular ol' 10 miler. I started out at easy pace (8:00ish). Then I started to feel pretty good and picked it up without realizing it. By the time I hit mile 4, I realized that each mile had gotten faster, and I was still feeling AWESOME, like I was floating. Some things started happening that remind me of my runner self- my ponytail bob, this thing I do with my fingers while I am running, the absence of ankle pain (wahooo). So, I decided to try an impromptu progression run. To make a long story short, I got it down to 7:03 without much effort at all, finishing w/ a 7:27 average.

Saturday was a recovery run and I was feeling NOTHING from the day before. I have really hated driving lately, so I decided to give the trail behind my house a whirl. I did 6 miles through the trail to the golf course and back. I saw 2 white-tailed deer out playing and a few early morning golfers. Another blissful run!

This morning's long run was TOTALLY fogged over. I started before dawn, needed to get ready for church and all, and my legs felt like CRAP to start with. I said, "Oh well, it's been a good 2 day streak." I told myself to just go with it and get the miles in, no matter how slow. I hit the first 4 or so at about 8:10ish, then at mile 5, something started to click. The pace got faster. Once again, I had that blissful runner feeling. I felt soooooo strong. That's the only word I can use to describe it. I sort of wish I would've turned it into a 20 or longer, but I was pressed for time, so I couldn't. I finished my last few miles in 7:15 range, very pumped about that. My body just *did* it. It wasn't planned; it wasn't calculated. It was just me running, ponytail bobbing, fingers moving, just going...

I am thrilled for many different reasons, the main being that I just feel good. While I have lost fitness, I feel strong, and that gives me hope the fitness will return. I feel at peace about life situations, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with my blissful running. It helps to not carry baggage while running. Also, I think for awhile I forgot how to enjoy running. I was so miserable in my life, in my performance, in EVERYTHING, that I couldn't enjoy something that usually made me happy.

So... there it is. I feel *back*, slower, but better in a lot of ways. Hope everyone is feeling as blessed as I am.

11 comments:

  1. I hate to say it (okay, I'm happy to say it), but I told you that it comes around faster than you think!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous4/04/2010

    So wonderful to hear! Your body will absolutely remember what to do :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Whew! What a pleasure to read - long deserved. May they continue to get better and better.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous4/04/2010

    this was awesome to read :) much deserved goodness here!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hurrah for the return of your mojo!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. YAY! You are such a talented runner (whether you let yourself believe it or not). It's awesome to hear you sound joyful about running again!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous4/06/2010

    Glad to hear it! Hopefully (*knock on wood*) I'm not too far behind you- I've lost two weeks of training due to stride alteringly bad blisters and spring chest colds of death :/

    ReplyDelete
  9. SWEET. That blowing off of steam after finishing state testing was probably the perfect way to re-charge and shake out the stress, and it all just carried forward into your running. Here's to a great spring and summer of running for you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. That's great news. Just enjoy each day as it comes. You'll be back rockin' it before you know it.

    ReplyDelete