"Change is the essence of life; be willing to surrender who you are for what you could become."
That quote is profound. I saw it for the first time today. My year has started off on a very swollen and injured right foot. I think I am going to actually see a doctor this time. I have every intention of completing that half marathon on March 2nd, come hell or high water... or injured foot.
I have to give myself credit, I have really stuck to my guns this past week by watching my eating habits and making sure I exercise regularly. I was running 20-25 miles per week this past summer, and I felt better than I've felt in my entire life. Ideally, I'd like to get back to that, but between grad school and my job, it's very difficult to make that kind of commitment.
In my fat days, I was relatively outdoorsy. We grew up camping, swimming, biking, all that jazz. The summer I worked for the YMCA consisted of mountain biking (mostly mountain bike walking) adventures, white water rafting, horseback riding, and lots of hiking. I LOVE being outdoors, so I am really trying to get back into it! My co-workers and I mountain biked a local trail on Saturday. What was supposed to be a 2.4 mile ride on an easy trail turned into an almost 7 mile ride consisting of rocks and hills. I am still not sure if we were on the easy path. According to the signs, we were, but Kelly and I both agreed that parts of the ride were far from easy. My thighs burned and my hands are still chapped from the death grip I had on my bars for the downhill portions of it, but I had an absolute blast! Maybe I was blinded by my fatness in my past mountain biking experience. Like I said, a lot of them consisted of pushing my bike rather that riding it. This ride was full of cardio bursts! There were several times I found myself gasping for air. I woke today feeling soreness in my calves, thighs, arms (surprisingly), and back. It was really a full-body workout. I felt so accomplished afterward because I only walked a few times, and they were for very short spells. I could see myself really getting into mountain biking!
Here was our course. It was on the Coldwater Bike Trail, which was part of the trail I ran for my race in December. I said I would never run it again, but the easy leg wasn't at all as hilly as the trail I ran.
My workout today was a beautiful 8 mile run and 10 minutes working on my abs. I always tell Blakely that at this point in my running career, endurance is just a trick of the mind. I am used to being out of breath, sweating, and feeling uncomfortable all over. My usual run is between 4-6 miles, but to prepare for my half, I have to start improving my distance. The farthest I've ever run is 9.9 miles. It was for my trail race and it was grueling and miserable. For regular, slapping the pavement running, I know I am capable of going farther. To improve my distance, I am having to put my time on the back burner. My goal is to simply FINISH the half marathon without dying or walking. Time is of no importance. I always like to keep my mile pace under 10 minutes, and on any given day, my average mile time is 9. 30. Instead of having my GPS give me the distance and pace for every mile, I changed my settings to only distance to focus only on running 8 miles. It made all the difference in the world! I felt more motivated because I wasn't trying to beat my last run time. I was able to listen to my body and go at a steady pace. My average mile was 9 minutes 45 seconds, and I can live with that. I am proud of my run, however, I broke one of my most important rules: I ran on an injured foot and completely ignored my body when it was screaming at me to stop. The swelling in the arch of my foot has gotten really bad this weekend, so it's back to compression socks and elevation. Everyone loves a woman in a compression sock... you know you do.
I really feel like exercising is a mind game. Once you have gotten used to being out of breath and you can get over the smell of your own body odor, endurance really boils down to how far you are willing to let yourself go. I am more motivated than ever to complete this half marathon, which I registered for today. I originally said I was going to run in the Mercedes Half, but $100 is unreasonable. My first half marathon will be the Tuscaloosa Half on March 2nd. That givens me just short of two months to get to where I need to be.
Here are some really awesome pins that I pinned this week.
The first one is a list of workouts for runners to do in addition to running for targeting those muscles that running doesn't.
The next pin is an article written by nutritionists describing ideal eating habits. This article is FANTASTIC and helpful for those that struggle establish an eating schedule.
Finally, I have been having non-pregnancy-preggo cravings for sweet potatoes lately. They're considered one of the healthiest things you can eat, so I found this list of recipes! I cannot wait to try them out!
No comments:
Post a Comment