Testing the Limits

Well, I found out that the running gods have slacking off limits. They will allow you to take four days off from running without punishment, but if you go for five you better watch out.

My house and work piles are significantly reduced, I once again have clean clothes, and there is finally food in the cupboards. I managed to actually stay awake for more than an hour to hang out with my boyfriend, and now my running is falling apart. I just can't seem to find the time to fit everything in. The fact that I have had a monstrous headache since Saturday night isn't helping. I feel like I've been moving in slow motion for days.

The last time I ran was on my long run on Thursday, so I've been feeling pretty guilty. I was very glad that my training partner and I had plans to run today or else I would probably have opted for some excedrin and my bed! Instead, I laced up my shoes with determination, even though the motivation was lacking. My training partner arrived and I asked him if he was ready for the run. He said, "No! I was hoping you were going to say let's just skip it and go straight to dinner instead." As it turns out, he has had a busy week along with some hip issues and he hadn't ran since our training session last week. At least I have a partner in my crime of neglect.

We started off and I felt stiff and creaky. Nothing wanted to move right, and everything hurt. I kept watching my pace on my GPS unit, and it kept saying we were running about a 11:30 to a 12:30 minute/mile pace. And I was thinking, "You have got to be kidding me! It feels like we are running 7 minute miles!" I was having a hard time keeping up with my partner. The rest seemed to have done him some good. I think the running gods were taking pity on him because his hip has been bothering him for a few weeks. Me, on the other hand, have no real excuse, so they were punishing me full force with ouchy shins, ankles, and knees topped off with a bout of shortness of breath. I did manage to finally loosen up and get it together and the last mile and half felt really good. Someone once said the following to me about running: "You may sometimes dread it, but you never regret it." And that statement is truer that I could have ever imagined. After the run, we were discussing how good it felt to run today and how we wish we wouldn't have waited so long to get back out there.

We ran the same route as last week. I wanted to check my GPS tracker again, and it came out much closer to the 4.5 miles. I think last week it was just getting warmed up since it was the first time I had used it. So, I am feeling much more confident in it and don't feel like I need to continue checking it.

On a very happy note, I was trying to distract myself from the aches and pains by observing the landscape. I was excited to see that the trees have tiny buds on them. Last week, they didn't. Spring is finally on it's way. Yeah!