Hello everybody, and by everybody I mean my five followers. I know it's been a good little while since I've posted but as you are aware I've been a bit busy with little Maddie and with work. Call it excuses, call it reasons, call it lazy, whatever. So let's see if I can start getting a little momentum back. It's never too late to start over.
I'm running again! I've been pretty consistent since early November, getting out there about twice per week for about 3-5 miles at a time. It has taken me a little time to adjust mentally to this new reduced workload and the new pace. You see, back in my marathon/ironman days I would routinely run about 20-40 miles per week, depending on where I was in my training for a particular event. I would do these miles any where from an easy recovery pace of 8 min/mile to tempo runs of 8 miles in under an hour to hammering out some track intervals at top speed, usually 8x800m in 3:15 each (1:00 recovery). Now I have finally grown content with cruising along at an easy and relaxed 9 minute pace. I feel like I have fully converted to the "natural" style of running. I don't really have to think about it anymore. Is the Plantar F gone? Not really, I'm starting to think that this injury never really goes away, it just sort of lingers at a low level of discomfort forever. I don't feel it when I run, I feel it a little bit in the morning. I usually do all the right stretches and strengthening moves. Do I have goals with my running? I used to think about my next marathon, now I just am happy to get an hour of peace and quite and meditative solitude. So no I don't really have any goals. The thought of a marathon is intriguing though. What would that feel like? To run a marathon "naturally." My guess is that it would take me about 4 hours, maybe a little more. In the spirit of not setting myself up for failure I'm going to put that dream on the back burner for a few years. Since a goal is nothing but a dream with a deadline, I'll pick a dead line later. Maybe as a reward for earning my Masters, but that is for a another post.
I have run one race recently, it was the annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day. It's a great race, one of my fav's. This was the 30th annual incantation of the event and it just gets bigger every year. It's a lot like every other Turkey trot/chase all across the country. I love it because there are always lots of friends and family doing it as well. You see little kids running with their parents. You see semi-impromptu reunions on course. You see serious runners pushing for a PR and first timers pushing for the finish line. I do this race most years, one year I was injured and another I was 4 days post marathon so I cheered those years. But 8 of the last 10 years I toe'd the line. There is always a lot of friendly chatter at the starting line, the normal stuff you'd expect to hear. People talking about their training, about the weather, about the fiscal cliff and the inability of congress to do anything meaningful, talking about their jobs and their families and their lives, usually good natured and light hearted and laughing. One noticable difference I found between the front of the pack runners and the mid pack runners is when the chatter stops. When I was fast and would line up at the front and push myself I noticed that the chit chat would stop as soon as the gun went off. Maybe a quick, "here we go!" or "good luck," but usually all I hear is beeping of the timing chips flying over the start mat and cherping of our watches as we start the timer. Then it's 40 minutes of breathing hard and running fast. But back with the 50-60 minute runners, the chatting never really stops. It might slow down a bit in the second half but I learned a lot of interesting facts about some total strangers. One guy felt as if he was mislead by the Realtor whose sign we just ran past, another joked about turning our 6 mile run into a 2 mile walk, I found out where one lady got a great deal on her running top and I learned whose husband likes to share and whose doesn't.
I was just handed a baby that I am told looks a lot like me so I gotta go now. Until next time, keep moving
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