Happy Halloween! Was up at 5:30 today, which was easier than is should have been considering I've been used to waking up whenever I pleased and that the vampiric toddler still likes to run around screaming at all hours of the night. Today's run is just 25 minutes. Easy Peasy. My original goal was to run for 5 minutes at the most at a stretch. I made it 10 the first go around and about 8 the second with walks in between.
Still feeling good.
It feels so good to be back. The surgery went well and the recovery has been smooth. I've been walking regain my strength but today was my first day heading back with a plan in mind. It was just a half hour run and I took it very slow and easy. Heck I didn't even run all that much. I'd run for about a minute and a half and walk for a minute. Sometimes I could good longer other times I couldn't. I ended with some energy still left in the tank, but my body was happy to be done.
So, all these setbacks apparently require some surgery. Nothing major, but still I'm in no shape to be training right now. So, I'm grounded to walking until my recovery. I'm currently looking at Nov 1 as Day 1.
Found a couch to half-marathon running plan and since I'm starting over (again) I figured I'd shoot right for the big leagues.
Don't mistake me. I'm back, but I'm not better and to be honest, I don't know that I'll be better for a long time. Still, while my health issues aren't going away, neither is the half-marathon, nor is the fact that the only time I feel strong and good about myself is when I'm running. Even if I can barely do a minimum.
. I tried running yesterday and only made it about 11 minutes before I had to stop. Today, my goal was two 10 minute runs. I made one 10 minute run and one 5 minute run. I'm trying not to look back at how awesome I was just a week and a half ago (4 miles! a 5K!) but instead focus on how strong I'll be at some point. So no, today was not a good day, but it was also not a day when I gave up.
I might be more like Pickett trying to make it up that hill at Gettysburg than a conquering Alexander the Great, but the fight still continues.
The first rule of racing is to Run Your Own Race. It's easy to keep in mind when you're alone on the road, but come race day, it's something that you have to constantly keep in mind.
Today was the Run4Shelter's event. I decided to run the 5K as it seemed to be within my abilities at the moment and a good test of my distance running. More importantly, however, I am currently fighting another setback and I was running because I was afraid. I was afraid that I couldn't do it and I was afraid that if I didn't, then I wasn't just giving up for the day, I was just plain giving up. I needed to prove to myself that I'm still strong enough to keep going and even if I passed out on the track in the attempt, I was doing it.
Luckily, there was no need for the paramedics. the trail was beautiful and even as the faster runners blew past me in the first few minutes, I'm still pleased with my results. The last 5K I ran was in about 47 minutes. There was some walking involved. Today, I ran the full course. My strategy was to mimic Secretariat. Yep, I was going to take strategy advice from a horse. It's sort of ridiculous. Here is what ESPN considers one of the greatest athletes in history, a creature bred to run and to run beyond fast and me, a dumpling who is descended from sturdy German peasant stock. Truly there is no comparison. But here is what wikipedia says about when Secretariat ran the Kentucky Derby in 1973:
"On his way to a still-standing track record (1:592⁄5), Secretariat ran each quarter-mile segment faster than the one before it. The successive quarter-mile times were 251⁄5, 24, 234⁄5, 232⁄5, and 23. This means he was still accelerating as of the final quarter-mile of the race. No other horse had won the Derby in less than 2 minutes before, and it would not be accomplished again until Monarchos in 2001."
I took the first mile nice and easy. Pressed the gas pedal a little harder in the second and then with Zac Brown Band's "Natural Disaster" humming along, I stepped it up until I could hardly breathe. And believe me, no matter what your time is, the feeling when you cross that finish line is indescribable. I might be the mouth-breather bringing up the rear, but my time is an improvement over my last 5K and I am looking forward to the next.
