(no subject)
One of the happiest moments of my past several months was very subtle to me. It occurred earlier this year. I was running at the park, and I had a realization. There's a stretch of trail that's about 1.5-2 miles long, and when I first started running, I had to slow down and walk at several points to catch my breath.
I'm not sure when, but a point came along where I could run the whole thing. In January, while running the trail and back again(plus some bonus loops), I had realized something-this part of the trail was now my warmup. In fact, I wasn't stopping except because the dogs needed to rest and get something to drink by the creek. In that time, I was running in place. (This is not to say I was running faster or harder than the dogs by any stretch-they run circles around me). After I got home and relaxed(I had run a little over 10 miles that morning), I realized how far I'd come in such a short time. I was beaming with pride all day just thinking about how this trail bullied me when I started, and I finally hit back-making it my bitch.
After I injured myself at the end of January, subsequently having to avoid the running for Feb and March, and then was incredibly sick for most of April I hadn't had a good run since the half marathon. In fact, I was a little worried that I might lose interest altogether. That wasn't the case, as I finally got a good run in last weekend. Or at least, an ok run. My abilities have deteriorated dramatically. Once again, this stretch of trail has me walking at parts, trying to catch my breath and making me feel weak.
But this time it's different. When I started, I figured it would take forever to be able to run this whole trail. Now I know better, and I'm not afraid to push myself. This morning, I got on the trail again with my new shoes(New Balance 609's-I was desperately in need since my 429s were well worn) that I'd been breaking in all week. No, I didn't complete it all nonstop, but I came a lot closer. I even suspect that by next week(if the weather holds up) I should once again be able to finish the trail non-stop. In fact, I expect that by month's end, I'll be back to where I was before-running the whole trail without stops and with the extra loops thrown in. It won't be my warmup tho-that'll be a workout, especially as Texas summer sets in.
One of my goals this year was/is running a marathon. I think losing 3 months pushed me too far back in my training, and I never expected that to happen. I don't think I'll be able to do a full marathon by years' end no matter how hard I train. Of course, running in the summer is going to dramatically increase my endurance, but I'm not counting on that much improvement. Either way, I ran the half marathon in January and I'm still very proud of that(even with a terrible time as I had to limp my way to the finish). I plan to do a few smaller races as the year progresses with a goal of continually improving personal records.
The long and short of this is, I feel great knowing that I can finally get back into my shoes and enjoy one of my favorite activities. Everytime I get back from a run, I feel great and my whole day improves as a result. And while it hasn't been a specifically stated goal, the fact that I lost 40 pounds since I started in October(even with three months off-although possibly aided by sickness) is nothing to sneeze at.