This Week's Recap (and a Really Good Lesson)

It appears that we took a bit of a blogging hiatus.  Kinda like the running hiatus we seem to be taking this weekend.  More on that later...

I had 2 days off from running following my 15 mile run last Saturday, yet when Tuesday rolled around I still wasn't quite feeling it.  I set out on my short run for the week...a "measly" 4 miles.  I could tell right off the bat it wasn't going to go well.  Apparently wine and Nestle drumstick(s) night the evening before any run is not the best idea.  My legs felt like lead, and I honestly did not enjoy a single step.  I turned back early, walked a LOT, and ended my run at 3.3 miles.  My pace was the worst I've ever run since I've been documenting it.  It was just not fun.

Thankfully, Sarah was there to save me.  During a conversation with her later that day, she told me the BEST quote.  She said that expecting every run to go well is like trying to have the highs without the lows.  This totally spoke to me in so many ways!  I think this is true in all aspects of life.  You can't see the view from the top without working through the valleys and hills.  You can't have a thriving and secure marriage without having proven to yourselves that you can make it through the storms.  You can't fully grasp just how divine a full night's sleep is unless you've been up every hour for months on end with your newborn.  You can't appreciate vacation until you've been working long or hard enough to see how different it is from the day-to-day grind.  And you can't understand the freedom and joy of feeling like you are flying during a run if you haven't experienced the feeling of not being able to drag your feet a single step further. 

Wednesday I was scheduled to do an 8 mile run.  Overall, it was amazing!  It was reaaalllly hot, and crazy hilly.  At one point I hit a ginormous hill (I swear it was almost a mile long) and walked nearly the entire way.  Then I kind of scared myself when I started running again.  I could instantly tell I was going really fast.  And that it felt really good.  I checked my Garmin (yes, I finally got one!!!  More on that in a future post :), and for a full 1.5 miles I was sailing at sub-9 minute miles (and often sub-8.3) Um, what?!?!  I am a solid 10 minute mile runner.  On a great day I'll float into the upper 9's, but that is rare.  Running that fast, and feeling like I was in my sweet spot, was  c  r  a  z  y !!  I may never do it again, but for those 12 minutes, I was floating on air!  And I appreciated it all the more having survived my 3.3 mile crawl the day before.

I took Thursday off, really just because I was lazy. :)  We are supposed to be doing 16/17 miles this weekend, but I've been having the hardest time figuring out when to fit it in.  Tomorrow is my daughter's 2nd birthday (and party).  My husband's parents are already here, and my parents fly in tomorrow morning.  Even if I left at 5 am, I wouldn't be back in time to greet my daughter when she woke up on her birthday, make her a pancake breakfast, and spend every minute focused on her.  I made a promise at the very start of my training that if it ever got in the way of my family, I would quit on the spot.  I couldn't figure out a way to balance it all with the events of this weekend, so I called Sarah for moral support.  She said she had already decided to take the weekend off (or do a shorter run), as she just finished a birth and was headed to her family's lake cabin for her anniversary weekend.  I was instantly relieved of any guilt, and we reminded each other that we were doing just fine and would pick up where we left off.  Just one more reason she truly is my sole sister. :)

I'm going to try to get in a good run Sunday...maybe even the 12-miler we are scheduled to do next weekend.  But with family in town, and pizza and cake for dinner tomorrow, 5 miles or so is looking more realistic.  I'm just excited to wake up tomorrow and enjoy every minute of the day with my family and friends.  The roads will still be there on Sunday.  And I know I'll enjoy my run all the more.
-Christie